Indiana had been approving megafarm applications at a rising rate for several years.

But the recession, and especially falling pork prices, meant the number of new and expanding farms with thousands of hogs, cows and chickens has fallen sharply in the past couple of years.

Only nine new permits for concentrated animal feeding operations were issued last year, according to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. It was a level not seen since before Gov. Mitch Daniels took office in 2005 and pledged to double pork production in the state.

Environmentalists who would like to see more regulation say they had hoped the state would use the downturn in applications to address what they see as lapses in Indiana’s management of corporate farms, but that hasn’t happened.