11,000 swine farm near Hope topic for tonight

Bartholomew County will be considering another confined feeding operation this evening, this time in the Hope area. If approved, the farm off of County Road 700N at County Road 1150E could have up to 11,000 pigs.

The county planning staff are recommending approval of the Templeton LLC farm proposal, saying it has met all of the criteria for approval. That includes minimum setbacks from neighboring homes, schools, churches and towns. The farmers are planning a berm to separate the operation from a nearby creek, which feeds into Clifty Creek.

The 132 acre site is in an Agriculture Preferred zoning area, meant for farms and their related uses but requires a special conditional approval for a confined feeding operation. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has already signed off on operation.

The county board of zoning appeals is set to consider the farm at 7 p.m. tonight at Columbus City Hall.