Jefferson County Farmers and Neighbors Inc

Jefferson County Farmers and Neighbors Inc. (J-FAN) was launched in January 2005 to, according to the Sept. 22, 2005 Fairfield Daily Ledger, “marshal forces against large hog lots and CAFOs.” The organization, led by a retired librarian, is in business to stop the growth of modern, sustainable livetsock farms in Jefferson County county and to provide education on the dangers of the buildings and alternatives to them. The group calls itself “an ally of the family farmer and supporter of traditional hog farming and other small faming methods.”

“Wean to finish, farrow to finish, hoop houses and sow houses, anything but factory size hog farms,” the Fairfield Daily Ledger wrote in characterizing J-FAN. Despite the group's assurances that it will support the "family farmer," the group has been largely silent on the filing of a lawsuit in 2006 against a third-generation Jefferson County farmer who constructed a 1,200 hog barn in prime farm country and in close proximity to their home.

J-FAN, according to an organizational handout distributed Sept. 21 in Fairfield, says it has three main objectives: (1) Establish a legal defense fund, funded by residents to help local residents and local farmers protect their legal rights; (2) Develop a countywide or “neighborhood watch” telephone hotline to help people report any new CAFO factory construction; and (3) Conduct community educational meetings to inform each resident about the risks associated with CAFO factories.

The organization frequently quotes information prepared by the New York-based Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE) and Dees Moines-based Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. Both groups share J-FAN's commitment to restricting where and how livestock can be raised in Iowa.

“If we create enough problems for CAFO builders, operators will see that they’ll have to put up with nuisance lawsuits. That’s the only recourse that’s been successful," said J-FAN Secretary Robert Swanson in the Sept. 22, 2005 “The Heartland Spirit."

Jim Rubis, J-FAN President, offers yet another observation: "We’re not against livestock producers. We’re against confined animal feeding operations.” (Fairfield Ledger, Jan. 4, 2006)