n The growing numbers of documented and undocumented immigrants as the work force.

n The burden on the local community to provide social services for a foreign population.

Any one of these indicators would be problematic, but when all of them are added together, it becomes readily apparent that CAFOs are an economic disaster for rural communities.

No doubt, a few on the boards of Tysons, Smithfield, and Seaboard benefit. No doubt, that CEOs of ConAgra and Cargill do well. But the folks on corporate agribusiness boards and the CEOs don’t live in rural communities. Indeed, Joe Luter, the CEO of Smithfield — a self-described “family farmer” — lives in a condo on Park Avenue in New York City.

So, while a few of the already-rich get richer, rural communities get poorer. While a few bigwigs vacation for months in Bermuda or a tropical island in the Pacific, rural residents can hardly afford to take a vacation at all.

Economic benefit? No. Economic development? No.

If this is, as some say, “the future of agriculture,” rural residents had better hang onto their pocketbooks and hope that the invasion of the CAFOs goes away.

So what are the governors thinking in promoting CAFOs as a way to benefit rural communities? While my first impulse is to state “They aren’t thinking,” the adage of “follow the money” applies. Take a look at which business organizations bankroll gubernatorial campaigns. Take a look at the donations flowing in from advocacy groups such as the Farm Bureau, the Pork Producers Association, the Poultry Federation, or the American Dairy Federation.

Who are the governors listening to? Those with the most money for them.

Ken Midkiff is a spokesman for the Sierra Club.