Tribe Signs Contract with Dakota Pork Producer to Operate Hog Farm Story-Date: 07:19 a.m. PST Thursday , October 1, 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------ Tribe Signs Contract with Dakota Pork Producer to Operate Hog Farm By Karen L. Testerman, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Sep. 7--ROSEBUD, S.D.--Slopping the hogs will take on a new meaning for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. On Aug. 19, the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council and Bell Farms of Wahpeton, N.D., became business partners in a long-term, joint business venture to build and operate a hog farm on tribal trust land. A motion for a referendum vote was defeated as the tribal council moved forward in securing the contract by a vote of 16 in favor, 2 against and 2 absent. The construction start date is set for Sept. 15. Bell Farms and its sponsors are expected to spend over $105 million to build and operate the hog farms and lease the land. Land, not money, is the tribe's contribution to the business venture. RST Business Director Ron Valandra said the total acreage required for project facilities is approximately 1,136 acres with some additional acreage required for access roads. Mr. Valandra said approximately 4,000 acres have been tentatively identified for consideration as sites for future operational facilities. Because the venture entails the use of tribal land, Councilman Calvin "Kelly" Jones of District 4 (Ring Thunder/Soldier Creek), motioned the tribal council to refer the issue to the tribal members for a referendum vote. The motion was defeated. Mr. Valandra said a referendum vote has not been the legislative procedure for any tribal business ventures. "The tribal casino, the proposed chicken farm, the casino hotel, and other issues were never considered a referendum vote issue," he said. Mr. Valandra said the facility location is north of Highway 44, in Mellette County, near Cedar Butte, approximately 12 miles west of Whiteriver, S.D. "The land lease to Sun Prairie, a Nebraska General Partnership with Bell Farms, permits the leasee to work in cooperation with the tribe to develop, design, construct, equip and operate a pork production facility," Mr. Valandra said. "The lease payment will be the standard lease for the type of land being leased." In addition, the tribe will get all the tax benefits and also receive 25 percent of net profits, he said. "This will remain a project owned, operated and managed by Sun Prairie for the lease period of 15 years," Mr. Valandra said. "The tribe will have a buy-out option at the end of 15 years for 50 percent of the original facility's cost, plus current operating cash accruals, inventory and other current assets. Sun Prairie will assist the tribe in refinancing should this option be taken." Mr. Valandra said the tribe and Bell Farms held a public information meeting June 15 in Norris, S.D., with all proper notices put in the local newspapers and on the local radio station, KINI, based in St. Francis. "The concerns expressed at the public hearing were the water, smell and safety of the lagoons," Mr. Valandra said. "All the concerns were addressed by the tribe and Bell Farms." According to the Environmental Protection Agency's 1994 National Water Quality Inventory, agriculture (including feedlots) is the leading source of pollutants in rivers and lakes. Additionally, addressing the proper location of concentrated livestock facilities can be a difficult issue Rosebud Agency BIA Superintendent Larry Burr said the tribal council and Bell Farms hired RESPEC Inc., an engineering consulting firm, to do the environmental assessment on the proposed sites. He said that after reviewing the environmental assessment and Bell Farm's construction plans, he felt the project, "is environmentally sound" and there was no reason to request an environmental impact statement." Mr. Burr said the location is on prairie land where non-porous Pierre shale is underground. "Water doesn't flow through Pierre shale," he said. "There are no running streams near the sites at all, in the immediate area," Mr. Burr said. "Once completed, the facilities shouldn't have any (environmental) impact on the surrounding areas. The facility is very modern and will be one of the largest hog confinement facilities in the U.S." In addition, he said Bell Farms is going to implement a new process that will flush waste from the confinement areas every couple of hours into digesters (lagoons). "The digesters will be built deep and clay-lined with a special clay," Mr. Burr said. "They are good for 25 years. They will be cleaned out and the bacterium is taken and injected into soils on farms." He said the holding and feeding areas are going to be built on concrete slabs which will make it easier to flush animal waste through to the digesters. ----- Visit Indian Country Today on the World Wide Web at http://www.indiancountry.com/ (c) 1998, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. ------------------------------------------------------------