Hog facility could impact waters, critics suggest

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This article was published 24/05/2017 (3087 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A proposed $9-million hog genetics centre near Woodlands poses an environmental threat to Lake Manitoba, critics say. 

The genetics centre, which will include a hog barn for up to 2,800 pigs, would be within five kilometres of Lake Francis, which runs into Lake Manitoba, area resident Bill Fleury said.

That could see runoff of phosphorus and nitrogen into Manitoba’s third-largest lake, said Fleury, a former councillor in the RM of Woodlands, where the genetics centre would be located.

The centre is proposed by Topigs Norsvin, a partnership of two farmer co-operatives in Norway and the Netherlands. 

A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for Thursday night at 7 p.m. in the Meadow Lea Community Centre, near Marquette. 

The warnings contradict a report by a provincial technical review committee. Technical reviews lend support to local governments that don’t have the resources to study proposals such as livestock operations. It is comprised of officials from various government departments, including agriculture and the environment. 

The review committee determined the proposal complies with government regulations and “will not create a risk to health, safety or the environment.” 

Topigs Norsvin chose Woodlands because it’s a farming community near Richardson International Airport. The company plans to ship top boars for breeding to more than 50 countries. 

The facility would employ up to 15 people, including four CT scanner operators, and local people would have first dibs on jobs, the company says.

This is Topigs second attempt to find a location. It had an agreement to purchase farmland in the RM of Woodlands last year, but local objections were so great the landowner backed out of the sale. 

This time, Topigs has purchased an 80-acre corner of the RM’s large community pasture. The Topigs site is much more remote this time and less likely to incite neighbour complaints. As well, a hog barn for 2,800 pigs is considered small by today’s standards — about half the average size in Manitoba. It is producing hogs for breeding stock, not production.

However, water contamination has arisen as an issue because the site is in what it called a “surface water collection area,” said Fleury and several other residents who filed opposition to the technical review committee. 

Waters gather in the area before draining into Lake Francis. “It’s in a bad spot,” said Fleury. 

As well, the nearby spread sites for the hog manure are on rocky land where injection will be difficult. This also poses a higher risk of nutrient-rich runoff that promotes lake algae growth, say critics.

Reeve Trevor King said he would let experts speak to the matter at the public hearing. The $225,000 road to the facility would be cost-shared between the municipality, company and province. 

Topigs estimates the tax revenue from the genetics centre will be about $10,000 per year.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca