Brandon Howard Farms
Annie Purcell, Aaron Johnston, and Drew Thomas

Bottles of water from the wetlands.

The students in the Student Leader Development Institute (SLDI) knew that they had arrived at Howard Farms when the pungent odor of dung filled the air over 300 pigs filled the 4 pens, its putrid fumes filling their nostrils and making their eyes water. Dragonflies flew through the open air, landing on scattered lily pads throughout the lagoon. Pigs could be heard squealing and yelling in a nearby holding pen just yards away. The ground felt damp, as the students trudged through the mud to discover what really went on in this gigantic hog farm.
The institute students where meet by Diana Rashash who lead them on a tour around both wetlands cells. The purpose of the farm was to break down hog waste, by filtering it through wetlands. The farm was purchased by Brandon Howard after it was closed by the state because of did not met certain regulations. Rashash explained the different animal and plant life present in the cells including snakes, turtles, frogs and nutria, a borrowing 50 pound rodent. This rodent causes erosion problems as it borrows its nest. Fire ants ran rampant along the barriers between the wetland cells causing students to watch there step.

Rashash also described the problems the farm was having with the population of cattails. First planted in 2001 the cattails where attacked by a species of caterpillar fond of the cattails. The attacks have persisted despite attempts by farmers, until this summer when an fungi along with the red wing black birds began to kill of the caterpillar population

Walking in the wetlands.

Rashash concluded the tour informing that the whole program is “an evolving process”. There are still many problems with treating the waste water but as the technology progresses we are learning to cope with situation more efficiently.