MONTEZUMA - Dan Randolph was just helping a neighbor with tractor trouble when he first heard about the hog farm.

It was spring when the Denman Road resident gave a lift to Richard Snyder, a dairy farmer from nearby East Loop Road. The small talk progressed to Snyder's plans to take up pig farming.

A few months later, Randolph was presenting a petition to the Montezuma Town Board asking to stop Snyder from building a 2,000-head swine operation.

“I won't be able to live here if he builds this thing,” said Randolph, who has since founded the Environmentally Concerned Citizens of Montezuma to fight the plan.

He and a growing number of his neighbors feel threatened by the stench and contamination a swine farm can cause.

The state calls these large farms Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. Cayuga County is home to 28 CAFOs, almost all of them dairy.

Opponents argue the thousands of pounds of waste from these operations poison water sources and spread airborne illness. Large-scale animal farms typically store manure in lagoons and use the sludge to fertilize crops, creating a potential hazard for groundwater by way of runoff.

“We could really put a hurting on the water around here if this gets out of hand,” said Randolph, a Port Byron native who has lived on Denman Road for the past 15 years.

Crane Brook, which empties into the Seneca River, runs through the proposed site for the swine facility, he said. The environmental group is also worried about airborne particles that can create health problems in addition to the odor.

Randolph has appeared with several dozen supporters at the last few town board meetings to ask for a moratorium.

“The big thing right now is it's all talk,” Town Supervisor William Saroodis said. “He (Snyder) hasn't even filed for a permit yet, so I think the cart's a little ahead of the horse.”

The town board is considering the request to place a moratorium on hog farm development to allow time for an impact study, he said. The board meets next on Tuesday.

The town stands to gain little from the farm that would likely lower nearby property values while enhancing its own, Saroodis said. Beyond a moratorium, the municipality has almost no say in whether it can be developed.

The site, a vacant dairy farm near the intersection of East Loop and Denman roads, is already zoned for agriculture. Snyder, who did not return phone calls for this story, has yet to purchase the land or begin the CAFO permitting process with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

“We're going to take a look at it,” Saroodis said, noting the town must proceed cautiously from a legal standpoint if it chooses to impose the moratorium. “Right now I can see both sides.”

The health effects have long been a part of the political scene in North Carolina, where more than 2,000 pig farms supply more than 8,000 waste lagoons. A 10-year moratorium was followed by legislation passed this July that bans the expansion or creation of the lagoons.

Ammonia gas released by open-air lagoons combines with other elements to create particles linked to lung illness, according to Joe Rudek, a senior scientist with the national nonprofit Environmental Defense. Antibiotics used to enhance growth and reproduction while repelling disease are also introduced to the surrounding environment through the waste.

“With one hog operation, it's hard to say what the impact would be, it's really a matter of volume,” Rudek said. “I suppose once you open the door, the concern would be other operations could follow.

“There is a tendency of this industry to be concentrated in certain areas,” he said.

As a matter of logistics, breeding operations are typically located near the grow-out and slaughter sites. A heavy concentration of swine farms can have a large impact, even in communities that already coexist with dairy farms and other CAFOs.

“Antibiotics are used much more heavily in hogs and poultry then they are with dairy,” Rudek said. “Many of the antibiotics used are in the same family of antibiotics used for human health care.”

Research suggests humans can build up an immunity to antibiotics through the second-hand contact, he said. Though expensive, technology exists to remove waste from the farm without harming humans or the environment.

“The one lesson we hope comes out of our legislation is the manure lagoons should be a thing of past,” Rudek said.

The particulars of Snyder's plan are relatively unknown, but Randolph has a larger vision in taking a stand against what he calls “factory farms.”

“This includes a lot of different towns,” Randolph said. “Sure it's us today, but it could be them tomorrow.

“There are a lot of old farms in Conquest and Mentz,” he said. “They shouldn't wait until these things are built to get started.”

Staff writer Shane Liebler can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or shane.liebler@lee.net