I am from Iowa and the daughter of an Iowa hog producer–albeit he does not own any large confinement lot.
Last fall while visiting, my dad “kidnapped” me one afternoon and drove me to a large hog confinement operation with four units in two buildings. We sat between the buildings for nearly an hour, and there was absolutely no detectable odor, even though all the windows (in other words, half of the wall space) were fully open.
Now I am certain that when these producers spread their hog manure approximately twice a year, there is a stench. But ironically, when I visited my parents at Christmastime, it was unbearable to stand outdoors because the neighboring dairy farmer had emptied his manure holding tanks and spread the cow manure in the field across from my parents’ home. You literally could not stand to be outdoors because of the pungent odor!
The moral of the story is, all manure stinks. Whether we drink milk and eat dairy products, or eat beef, lamb or poultry, somewhere someone is suffering from the periodic odor of manure. Those from rural areas learn to live with it–it’s part of the production process. Those moving to the fringe suburbs and or rural areas, perhaps to escape city problems and odors, may find it distasteful, but, unfortunately, it is a fact of life on the farms.
