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Illinois Pork ‘disappointed’ in Chicago Tribune article

The executive director of the Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA), Jennifer Tirey, says the group is disappointed in a Chicago Tribune story about the state’s pork industry.

The article looks at the expansion of hog confinement facilities in the state and concludes that the state regulatory system “failed to protect rural communities as pork producers repeatedly exploited weak Illinois laws to build and expand the massive facilities”.

Tirey tells Brownfield the pork association knew the Tribune was doing a story and decided to work with the reporters in an attempt to provide “a balanced and educated voice to their story”.  But she says that’s not the way it turned out.

“I don’t think that anyone in our industry expected this to be a ‘sunshine and roses’ sort of piece,” Tirey says. “(But) the final product we see today does not represent a balance, in our opinion.”

In a letter addressed to “Fellow Producers and Friends”, IPPA president Bob Frase said many producers and industry stakeholders “graciously opened their farms to these reporters, spent hours on the phone answering detailed questions and put their reputations and livelihoods on the line for the greater good of the pork industry.

“Our efforts were to provide the writers from the Chicago Tribune accurate information about what is happening in Illinois’ pork industry and the dedication and passion our producers demonstrate every day on their farms,” Frase said. “We are disappointed that our voice was not heard and that the promised balance was not conveyed to their readers.”

The article focuses on odor, environmental and health complaints from people living near hog facilities. It places most of the blame on state regulators, but Tirey defends the work being done by the Illinois Department of Agriculture and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

“There are laws on the books for those sort of situations and I feel like those two agencies have done a very good job of following the law and going through the necessary requirements in order to have our producers construct barns in the state of Illinois,” Tirey says.

In a statement provided to Brownfield, Chicago Tribune managing editor Peter Kendall said, “This is a thoroughly reported story and its findings are based on numerous interviews and a thorough review of public documents. We have full confidence we lived up to our obligation to be fair and balanced.”

AUDIO: Jennifer Tirey