The Harrison County Board of Commissioners, in a special meeting yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, voted 3-0 to deny the proposed CAFO ordinance.

"We want to support agriculture in this county and do what's right," Commissioner Kenny Saulman said.

The ordinance was discussed at both regularly-scheduled board meetings in October after it was proposed by Elizabeth resident and Harrison County Advisory Plan Commission member Lance Dunbar.

The main point of the proposed ordinance was to allow a space of 1,300 feet between a home and a CAFO (confined animal feeding operation), with the understanding that existing CAFOs would be "grandfathered in."

Commissioner Jim Klinstiver asked that the issue be tabled so he could create maps that detailed what space would be left for confined feeding operations if the ordinance was approved. He brought those maps with him yesterday to show the board and the 20 or so folks gathered for the meeting. The white spaces on the map represented small pockets of land throughout the county left available for farmers.

"This is the end of the discussion," Klinstiver said. "It's too prohibitive. It goes against Indiana's Right-to-Farm law. I offer this as my basis ... sorry I stressed the ag community out during harvest time."

Lanesville resident and Farm Bureau representative Robert (Bob) Schickel thanked the board for their decision and said they want to continue to maintain a good and cheap food supply in America.

Depauw farmer Cameron Churchill also spoke in favor of the board's vote and said people like the Day family should not have to be "hassled by this nonsense."

According to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, confined feeding is the raising of animals for food, fur or recreation in lots, pens, ponds, sheds or buildings, where they are confined, fed and maintained for at least 45 days during any year and where there is no ground cover or vegetation present over at least half of the animals' confinement.

Harrison County has 10 CAFOs or CFOs (smaller confined feeding operations).