As Pennsylvania’s rural landscape changes, many city residents are moving into areas traditionally dominated by agriculture. That may contribute to this new concern over odors, says Leon Ressler, Lancaster County extension director. Although the volume of the complaints often depends on the animal species and the proximity of neighbors, Ressler believes the expansion of the urban-rural interface in Pennsylvania is a big part of the problem. “Many people moving into rural areas have not been exposed to farms before, and now they are located within short distances of large animal facilities,” he says. “These residents consider the odor to be a nuisance.”

“The urban-rural interface is a classic problem,” says agricultural engineer Paul Heinemann, who believes new neighbors of mushroom farms tend to complain the most about odors. “People want farms to look nice, but they don’t want to deal with the reality of farming, including the noise and the smells.”

Agricultural economist Tim Kelsey, who has studied conflicts between farm and nonfarm residents for several years, notes that it is not always new residents who complain about odor problems. “The sprawl theory implies that new neighbors should have been aware of the farms’ presence before moving into the area,” he says. “Yet many of the residents who complain about odors have lived in their communities for years.”

Agricultural engineer Bob Graves believes the changing nature of agriculture contributes to the problem. “Farms are not the same as they were half a century ago,” he says. “For farmers, their kids’ shoes cost more, just like they do for
everyone else. It costs more to go to the movies and to send kids to college. But the prices they receive for their products, like milk and meat, have not kept up with inflation. The solution is to become more efficient, and that may mean handling more animals.” New technologies enable producers to handle more animals on the same amount of land. These concentrated animal operations produce more manure, which means stronger odors. “The little red barn and silo that used to be located next door are not coming back,” Graves says.

In an interesting twist, sometimes farms are the new neighbors. Residents unaccustomed to farms and agricultural odors are suddenly finding producers moving into their neighborhoods. Odor complaints often follow the construction of new facilities, especially large hog facilities.

“Lancaster County, where hog farms are common, has very few odor complaints,” says animal scientist Ken Kephart. “People have become accustomed to the smells. The economy remains vibrant in that area, and property values continue to increase. But when a hog operation moves into a location where there were none before, residents notice the difference.”