Quality of Life for South Dakota

On Tuesday, June 13, 2017 the Yankton County Planning and Zoning Board approved zoning ordinance variance requests submitted by three different farmers to allow them to construct seven new high capacity (2,400 head) hog barns in Yankton County. The towns affected by these barns include Mission Hill, Volin, Gayville, and their surrounding areas. These small towns and the residents in the surrounding areas will be the people closest to these barns and therefore affected the most. Only 12 of the owners live within a mile of the barns they have requested to build, but many residents they have requested ordinances to build near are less than a half or less than a quarter mile from the proposed barn sites. The type of barns that were approved pose many health and safety risks to residents living near them. Building a CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, the type of operations these 2,400 head units would be) this close to residents can lower property values dramatically, with some residents in similar areas reporting losses of 60%. Another problem with building these barns concerns infrastructure. The roads in these areas have already fallen into disrepair, and the heavy traffic these barns would bring will only worsen the problem. The residents of the towns of Mission Hill, Volin, Gayville, and the surrounding areas have come together and created the group Quality of Life for Yankton County. This page will raise funds for the organization to to pay for advertising awareness of the hog barns, and hire an attorney if deemed necessary. Donating to this page will allow the citizens of Yankton County who are being silenced by their elected officials, pushed around by the few, forced to lose their property value and compromise their health fight back against this decision. This page and this organization fights for the Quality of Life of the citizens of Yankton County & South Dakota. Your contribution is not only appreciated, but helps families continue to live happy, healthy lives in Yankton County; without compromising their quality of life so a few people can make a few bucks while devastating the lives of their neighbors.