| Missouri Hog Farm Operators Ordered to Pay Millions for Odor |
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| Monday, March 08, 2010 |
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A state court jury in Jackson County, Mo., returned an $11 million verdict against industrial hog producers Premium Standard Farms Inc., a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, and privately-held ContiGroup Cos. in favor of residents living near the defendants’ 4,300-acre factory hog farm in northern Missouri. The verdict, covering 11 years of damages, is the largest monetary award against a hog farm in an odor nuisance case. The 15 plaintiffs, who filed their case in 2002, alleged that relentless and extreme manure odors emanating from the defendants’ farm and feeding operations prevented them from going outside on many days. In the early 1990s, Premium Standard Farms, of Princeton, Mo., bought and leased some 4,300 acres in Berlin, Mo., to create a “finishing farm,” processing an estimated 200,000 hogs per year. The swine are brought into the facility weighing 60 pounds and are grown to 260 pounds for slaughter. The Berlin facility houses 80 barns; each holding 1,000 hogs at a time. Premium Standard Farms said it was disappointed with the verdict but believed there are substantial grounds for reversal on appeal.
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The
rotary gas meter tester allows instrument technicians to accurately
measure the pressure drop across rotary vane positive displacement
meters. 
