Ashland neighbors fight proposed meat-processing facility

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) – A slaughter and meat-processing facility proposed at a farm in southern Oregon has led to opposition from neighbors, citing concerns about possible water contamination and odors.

The Mail Tribune reports Jackson County Development Services tentatively approved a meat-processing building and a chicken house last week on Uproot Meats’ 28-acre property southeast of Ashland.

Neighbors say the facility could contaminate groundwater, noting that the property is on an erosion-prone hillside with an irrigation district canal running along it.

Uproot Meats owners Krista Vegter and Sonia Consani say they plan to improve the ground and woods of their property and rotate their pigs to reduce impacts.

They say they have also lined their fence with hay bales to stop runoff and capture sediment.

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Information from: Mail Tribune, http://www.mailtribune.com/