Sam Bradshaw

The applicants, neighbours of the respondents' hog farm, applied to the Normal Farm Practices Protection Board complaining of excessive odour from the operation.

The Board found that the applicants were directly affected by the odour disturbance.

However, relying on expert evidence and the operation's compliance with Minimum Distance Separation guidelines, the Board concluded that the hog operation generally constituted a normal farm practice.

The Board ordered a modification to the respondents' practice, requiring them to incorporate liquid manure spread on tilled land into the soil within 48 hours to mitigate odour.

The applicants, neighbours of the respondents' hog farm, applied to the Normal Farm Practices Protection Board under section 5 of the Farming and Food Production Protection Act, 1998, complaining of excessive odour.

The Board found that the applicants were directly affected by the odour disturbance.

However, the Board concluded that the respondents' hog operation complied with Minimum Distance Separation requirements and was conducted in accordance with normal farm practices, with one exception.

The Board ordered the respondents to modify their practice by incorporating liquid manure spread on tilled land into the soil within 48 hours after spreading.

The applicants, neighbouring farmers, complained of severe odours emanating from the respondent's two newly constructed segregated early weaning swine barns and manure pit.

The Normal Farm Practices Protection Board found that the applicants were aggrieved by the odour, which constituted a disturbance.

The Board determined that the respondent's operation was not a normal farm practice because the barns were not located in accordance with the Minimum Distance Separation (MDS II) guidelines of the Agricultural Code of Practice, which was the accepted standard in the region.

The Board ordered the respondent to install 60-foot exhaust stacks to disperse the odour and bring the operation into compliance with normal farm practices.

The applicants, neighbouring farmers, complained of severe odours emanating from the respondent's two segregated early weaning swine barns and manure pit.

The Board found that the applicants were aggrieved by the odours, which constituted a disturbance.

In determining whether the operation was a normal farm practice, the Board considered municipal by-laws and provincial minimum distance separation (MDS) guidelines.

The Board concluded that the respondent's barns were not located in accordance with MDS guidelines and that the township had erred in not requiring Certificates of Compliance.

The Board held that the respondent's operation was not a normal farm practice due to its location and ordered the respondent to install exhaust stacks to disperse the odour.

The applicants, who operate a swine farm, challenged portions of a municipal bylaw that restricted intensive livestock operations by capping facility size at 500 livestock units, requiring 1 tillable acre per 1.5 livestock units, and mandating that 66% of the required land base be owned by the livestock operator.

The Normal Farm Practices Protection Board found that the applicants' proposal to house 750 livestock units on one site and to manage manure through a Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) constituted normal farm practices.

The Board concluded that the bylaw's absolute cap on livestock units, its arbitrary acreage ratio, and its strict ownership requirement restricted normal farm practices in contravention of the Farming and Food Production Protection Act.