Our work on factory farm issues since the mid ‘90s has produced tangible results and given thousands of rural Iowans hope in their fight for social, economic and environmental justice. Our accomplishments include:

• Stopped the construction of factory farms.
Members organized around the state to stop the construction or expansion of nearly five dozen factory farms.

• Won greater local control over factory farms.
Members helped counties challenge and overturn decisions by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to grant construction permits to factory farms.

• Pushed the state to issue violations and fines for factory farm polluters.
We successfully petitioned the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to issue stiff fines and penalties for factory farm polluters and to refer pollution cases to the Iowa Attorney General for stronger enforcement action.

• Exposed Iowa’s failure to protect our water.
We helped develop the report: “Threatening Iowa's Future: Iowa's Failure to Implement and Enforce the Clean Water Act for Livestock Operations" which documents Iowa’s failure to regulate thousands of factory farm operations, despite federal laws clearly requiring the state to do so.

• Led the charge to establish clean air rules in Iowa.
We have led a grassroots campaign to establish clean air rules for factory farms. Despite opposition from powerful corporate opponents, each year our growing band of citizens moves closer to rules that will protect our air and our health. We won Iowa's first ever hydrogen sulfide standard for factory farms in September 2004.

• Helped people win property tax relief.
We gave neighbors the tools they needed to successfully protest their property taxes when factory farms devalued their property.

• Educated people about the use of nuisance lawsuits.
We helped families connect with attorneys and mount successful legal cases when factory farms created a nuisance that severely impacted their quality of life and property values.

• Produced a directory to connect family farmers and consumers.
We produced a directory to support the economic viability of independent family farms and provide consumers with high quality, better tasting food. Click here to connect to family farmers in your area.