Court order blocks vote on Callaway County hog farm

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Opponents of a proposed hog farm that would house 10,000 breeding sows in mid-Missouri have won a court order blocking regulatory action that would have allowed construction to start.

The Columbia Daily Tribune (http://bit.ly/1MdGYfC) reports that Friends of Responsible Agriculture has been fighting Callaway Farrowing LLC's proposed hog operation since last summer. Their efforts included challenging a permit issued in November by the Department of Natural Resources.

In April, an administrative hearing commissioner turned down the challenge and recommended the Clean Water Commission sustain the permit. But a Cole County judge issued a preliminary writ of prohibition on Friday blocking the vote, which was on the commission's agenda for Wednesday.

Callaway Farrowing attorney Robert Brundage didn't immediately return a phone call Saturday from The Associated Press.

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