Jan and John Cave, owners of Krochmal Farm, and their son John Jr. were present at State House hearing in Boston, MA.

by Diana Mendes

   In October 2007 a Petition was presented to the Town of Tewksbury Board of Health asking them to investigate the Krochmal Farm specifically stating wetland contamination, well water contamination, air quality, upper respiratory conditions; pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma and stomach issues. The petition culminated into a warrant at a town meeting. That special town meeting drew a large crowd. Representative James R. Miceli stated, “250 townspeople voted that night to pass the warrant.” He continued, “I have been to that farm and the smell was unlike anything I have ever smelled. I can’t even describe how awful it was.”

   The simple act of the Cave farm family in 2005 owners of Krochmal farm in Tewksbury, MA, to upgrade, moving the pigs off the fields and into a finishing barn, has turned the Town of Tewksbury into a political battlefield. The Caves thought they were doing the right thing for the pigs. The barn was built with a 500,000 gallon manure pit underneath.    After they moved the pigs into the finishing barn and the pit started to fill they realized that the manure was not breaking down and there was an odor coming from the barn. The Cave family discussed the problem with the Department of    Agriculture Resources (DAR) and added aerobic bacteria to the pit. Sure enough the odor dissipated. The odd thing was that after a few months the odor came back. The Caves tried a second type of aerobic bacteria but after a few months the odor returned. The Cave Family again enlisted the help of DAR and the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture Resources (MDAR).  

   The Cave family was trying to fix the problem but there was a learning curve and with this came hundreds of complaints pouring into the Board of Health. Calls were made, inspections were done. Various testing and studies all came to say that the Krochmal farm was in fact using the “Best Practices.” There is no water contamination or increase in health issues in the area of the Krochmal farm. The truth is that pig farms smell. Unless the odor was from neglect, there is nothing residents of Tewksbury could do but complain. The neighbors would not take this sitting down. Residents started to question the term “Best Practices” and wanted the town to be able to regulate agriculture for itself. Banning together they formed a group of concerned citizens and began to collect signatures, put door hangers on residents’ houses and started a web page ( www.tewksburyodor.org ). Phaedra D’Ambrosio, a resident of Tewksbury stated, “We just want oversight and regulations.”

   Town Selectmen Scott Wilson stated, “The town’s people have the right to know when changes are made on these farms.”  

   As the complaints rolled in and neighbors pushed the petition to the next level, the Cave family was working hard to fix the problem. They got a grant from MDAR and found an Odor Abatement System. They viewed a large swine operation in Maryland with the Juergens system in full operation. The system, Juergens Environmental Control, offered a three part system. The first controls the pH levels in the pit, second an Atomizer System reduces the dust and odor particles and third an oil slick on the top of the pit keeps the gases from rising. To put this system in was a long and expensive process, but the Cave family is committed to farming and fixing the problem. Still, the warrant was put through and the town asked Representative James R. Miceli to put it before the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government for a hearing.

   This hearing was attended by representatives from the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation, Massachusetts State Grange, Massachusetts Department of Agriculture Resources, Town of Tewksbury Selectman and approximately 40 individuals for and against the bill. 

   Alex Dowse President of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation stated, “Local controls will over burden the system.” 

   “These regulations will put farms out of business.” 

   Warren Chamberlain, Legislative Director, Massachusetts State Grange addressed the committee saying, “Bill 3818 gives far too much power to local officials who are lay people.”  

    The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government listened as Scott J. Soares, Massachusetts Department of Agriculture Resources Commissioner, regarding Bill 3818 stated, “There is a far reaching impact this bill will have on agriculture in the state of Massachusetts.”

   Douglas Gillespie, Executive Director Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federations said, “We have always supported agriculture in Massachusetts. Are we now heading toward an environment that is hostile toward farming?”

   At the end of the hearing many people had spoke both for and against Bill 3818, An Act Regulating the Keeping of Swine in the Town of Tewksbury. Both sides agree that farming is a vital part of Massachusetts but what they don’t agree on is who will regulate the industry in the future.