OTTAWA — A provincial judge has allowed the building of a new pig farm near Sarsfield and many local farmers applaud the decision. Yet, some approving farmers have their own concerns.

"The farmers don’t mind the pig farm at all," says dairy farmer John Luchtenberg, who lives about 10 kilometres from the proposed pig farm site that the city of Ottawa vehemently opposed. "It’s the urban people who are against it. I say it’s great. It will protect us too. It will give us a chance to do what we want or they’d shut us down too."

Luchtenberg, who milks 40 cows, feared that if urban pressure succeeded in stopping construction of a pig farm, then it would not be long before urbanites attacked existing farms.

Justice Albert Roy ruled March 18 that construction can continue on a 750-head hog barn east of the city near the village of Sarsfield. Justice Roy said the responsibility for protecting the environment falls on the Ministry of Environment.

Ottawa mayor Bob Chiarelli told Farmers Forum at the Ottawa Valley Farm Show "We’ll probably appeal."

The city had argued during the trial that the provincial initiative was too slow, and is currently conducting its own inquiry.

A farmer, who asked not to be identified because of the friction in the village of Sarsfield of about 300 families, told Farmers Forum: "To me, if those guys can do pork production and do not pollute the air and the water, they have a right to farm. Since all of this is going on, they (people living in Sarsfield) see me as someone who pollutes. That bugs me."

Pierre LaFrance farms only five kilometers from the proposed site. "If it’s done well with respect to the environment it’s no big deal," he said. "It’s agriculture."

The dairy farmer’s only concern is: Who gets the benefits? "The inputs come from Quebec and go to Quebec and all we get is the manure," he said.

Area dairy Farmer Anthony VanMunsteren approves of the pig farm but says "we’ve all got concerns."

At less than one kilometer east and upwind from Sarsfield, the pig farm "is just a little too close to the village. I know I wouldn’t want the damned thing next door."

He argued that farmers support the pig farm in part because they want to prevent further restrictions on farmers.

Mario Cote and Luc Lafontaine had originally proposed a 1,045 pig barn but scaled back to meet the city by-law cap of 750 pigs. The pair own a Shur-Gain feed mill in Quebec, and ultimately the pigs will go to Maple Leaf.

In court the two men said they were willing to meet all the standards of the city and the new barn would be built with the best of technology to meet environmental standards. The barn is expected to be completed by early fall.

The city of Ottawa quibbled about the proposed pig farm for months. Last year when placard-waving protestors showed up at city hall, Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli appeased them, saying, "We used to go to the country for fresh air. Maybe now people will have to come from the country into the city for fresh air."