Seward County panel rejects big chicken farm after opponents flock to meeting

SEWARD, Neb. (KLKN) — The Seward County Planning Commission shot down a chicken barn proposal on Monday night.

The proposal ruffled the feathers of some who lived nearby, who said the barns would have brought health and environmental risks.

A Seward County couple wanted to put up eight barns that would have held more than 200,000 chickens.

That’s called a concentrated animal feeding operations — or CAFO — facility.

SEE ALSO: ‘This is hurting local farming’: Seward County residents express concerns with new zoning proposal

Those in favor of the chicken farm said it would boost the local economy.

“I’m kind of disappointed; I was hoping this room would be empty,” Adam Hldaky, a poultry farm owner in Seward County, said at Monday’s meeting. “We all live in Nebraska. Everyone knows where our food comes from; we should be proud of where our food comes from.”

But one couple who live less than a mile away begged the commissioners to deny the project.

“Why should we be forced to leave the home that we have built our lives in?” Lindsey Schwan asked. “As responsible and loving parents, we wouldn’t be able to stay. Realizing now about the increased health risks to our children and their grandparents, it would go against our values.”

The meeting stretched on for more than two hours, and in the end, the commissioners voted to reject the plan.

Those against the proposal said it feels like a big victory.