By Wally Kennedy

wkennedy@joplinglobe.com

LAMAR, Mo. — A conference on the environmental and agricultural impact of concentrated animal feeding operations will be held tonight at Thiebaud Auditorium in Lamar.

Darvin Bentlage, a farmer who has been critical of CAFO operations in Barton County, said: “We’re going to give the facts, and these are facts that are available to anyone. We’re also going to talk about our personal experiences, and introduce the coalitions and alliances that have formed in response to these CAFOs.”

Bentlage said the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ oversight of CAFOs will be a topic, as will the position of politicians.

“People need to learn where their candidates stand on this issue, and get out and vote,” he said. “Most people don’t think this directly affects them. If they drink water, it will affect them.”

The program will begin at 7 p.m. with the showing of a documentary, “Everyone Lives Downstream.” The film, produced by two students at Pittsburg (Kan.) State University, depicts the impact of poultry CAFOs at Roaring River State Park. It will be followed by a report from a representative of the Roaring River Parks Alliance, which is mounting a legal fight.

Those attending will receive an update on another legal issue from a resident of Richland Township in Barton County, where voters last year overwhelmingly adopted measures to regulate hog CAFOs in the township. The vote was thrown out by a circuit judge after it was challenged by representatives of the hog industry, but residents are appealing the decision to a higher court.

Kat Logan Smith, with the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, and Rhonda Perry, with the Missouri Rural Crisis Center, will speak. A representative of the Missouri Farmers Union also is set to speak.

John Ikerd, professor emeritus of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri-Columbia, will talk about the economic impact of CAFOs on Missouri’s family farms.

The conference will conclude with the showing of “Farming Was My Life,” a documentary depicting the impact of factory farms on rural communities and small family farms.

The meeting will be followed by another conference Thursday in Kirksville.