I waited patiently for 1 ½ hours to testify before the North Dakota Senate regarding Senate Bill 2174 on March 7, 2025, which seeks to establish setbacks for industrial animal feeding operations aka “factory farms.” Preference was given to those in attendance, so those of who have actually been impacted by factory farms were never given an opportunity to address the North Dakota Senate.
Denied an opportunity to present public comment, I will share my comments with the public because you deserve to hear the truth.
I am a farmer’s daughter and am actively engaged in the management of our family farm in Dodge County, Minnesota. I am an attorney in Minneapolis, Minnesota. And, I am the author of Dodge County, Incorporated: Big Ag and the Undoing of Rural America. My family has been on the frontlines for decades fighting industrial agriculture. North Dakota is in the same position as southern Minnesota over 20 years ago.
Today, we have 12 swine factory farms in a 3-mile radius of our farm. Area factory farms and their owners share a corporate connection, as area hog factory farms fan out like spokes on a a wagon wheel. The gestational facility, which houses the sows (the mama pigs) and baby pigs serves as the hub. The baby piglets are then transferred to a neighboring nursery. From there, pigs are transported to feeder operations in the immediate area.
I heard testimony from Doug Goehring, the Commissioner of Agriculture for the State of North Dakota and a proponent of Senate Bill 2174. He testified that he has entered these industrial operations and emphatically stated that “you don’t smell it.” Commissioner Goehring, I invite you and members of the North Dakota Legislature to Dodge County, Minnesota so you can “smell it.”
Daily, my family must cope with the overwhelming stench and dangerous gases that are emitted from nearby industrial operations. These curtain-ventilated operations raise their curtains in the late afternoon or early evening to provide “natural ventilation.” A wall of stench and dangerous gases, including methane, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and other dangerous gases, are emitted daily and hit you without any warning. My brother was a dog breeder for many years, and his dogs frequently vomited when the gases were emitted from neighboring facilities.
Gone are the days of family weddings, wedding receptions, family reunions, picnics and other fun events on our farm. No outdoor events. No gardening. Industry giants have ruined the daily use and enjoyment of our farm and hundreds of family farms throughout the Midwest, and they’re coming for North Dakota.
Guess what—there’s not a damn thing that my family can do to fight the stench and dangerous gases emitted from the neighboring 12 swine factory farms. Even though my family has been on the land for over 100 years, Right to Farm laws protect industry giants. These “Right to Harm” laws have placed industry giants in a power position, limiting the ability of farm families who have been on the land for generations to bring a nuisance action against the industry. But, I can do something for my neighbors and friends in North Dakota—I can tell you the truth.
Another industry proponent of Senate Bill emphatically stated that “odors and annoyance” do not present health issues. Indeed, there are serious health consequences associated with industrial agriculture and installation of the factory farm next door.
Hydrogen sulfide is the most likely to cause an emergency situation. At high concentrations, you cannot smell hydrogen sulfide. I describe in great detail in chapter 15 of my book, The Three-Day Stink Out, my father’s efforts to harvest the last remaining acres of corn. While my father expertly maneuvered the combine through the corn field at 88 years of age, a neighboring factory farm operator was engaged in fall pump-out. As the neighbor emptied an estimated 2 million gallons of manure from his manure pits, the process caused agitation of the pit and emission of dangerous gases.
Dangerous hydrogen sulfide and other gases entered the combine cab, and my elderly father had to step off the combine to vomit. For several days thereafter, he suffered, likely a victim of hydrogen sulfide poisoning.
Dangerous ammonia emissions were also emitted. Ammonia emissions contribute to an estimated 12,400 deaths annually in the United States, and animal agriculture is the leading cause of such emissions.
Setback rules did not protect my family from dangerous emissions, particularly during fall pump-out and spreading of millions of gallons of manure adjacent to our farm. They will not protect your family members.
The hog industry ruined Iowa, they ruined southern Minnesota, and they’re going to ruin beautiful North Dakota. It’s time to put your citizens first and fight the industry giants led by the North Dakota Farm Bureau, the Corn Growers Association, and the Soybean Growers Association sweet-talking their way into North Dakota with their corporate propaganda. Oppose Senate Bill 2174!
Sonja Trom Eayrs
Farmer’s daughter, attorney, rural activist and author, Dodge County, Incorporated: Big Ag and the Undoing of Rural America