CANDO - The declining population of Towner County is attracting big interest in huge hog farms.

A depressed agricultural economy has forced many farmers out of the region. But producers say the thinning population makes it easier to establish smelly hog farms since there are few people left to complain.

Cousins Bruce and Jim Gibbens say they are planning operations to run 2,000 feeder pigs each.

Both have received state permits for specific sites.

Bruce Gibbens said he expects to be in operation by late fall.

Each feeder operation will provide five full-time jobs. The so-called sow barns, which handle up to 6,000 animals, require 35 full-time workers.

"It's a good economic development opportunity for the whole area," said Bruce Gibbens, who grows mostly small grains on his farm, but also has some cattle.

"It's value-added agriculture," he said.

Gibbens said his farm also can sell grain to feed mills that supply hog feed. And he can use the manure, pumped through pipelines, to enhance his farmland.

Other farmers are interested in large-scale hog farming in the area, said JoAnne Rodenbiker, president of the Towner County Economic Development Corp.

"We've had a number of other farmers in this area who have made trips to Manitoba to look at the facilities up there," Rodenbiker said. "It's not just Towner County. It's the whole northern tier of counties that are looking into this."

Maple Leaf Foods, a big pork processing facility in Manitoba, is seeking new producers, especially in the United States.

Craig Jarolimek of Elite Swine Inc., the development arm of Maple Leaf Foods, has been recruiting potential growers in parts of North Dakota.

"The population, at least in this case, is an asset," he said of Towner County. "The farms can locate a fair distance between neighbors and not affect the lifestyle."

"There's also the (close proximity) to the processing plant and feed plant," Jarolimek said. "It's all about freight. And the area has good people who are accustomed to livestock and are looking to expand their population base."

Producers can build their own facilities, receive management help from Elite Swine and sign contracts to sell the mature hogs to the company.

"There is some interest around here in getting back to animal production and processing, which we've gotten far away from in the last 25 years," said Carol Goodman of the Cavalier County Job Development Authority in Langdon.

"These facilities will bring jobs, bring spin-off jobs, bring activity and bring an opportunity for locally grown ag products to be used in a value-added way. We have to take a very open-minded look at this."

Not everyone is excited about the development.

"Some people are always concerned about large-scale operations," Rodenbiker said. "But, overall, the response has been good. They know economic development is needed. And this is an area where it makes sense."

There will still be plenty of elbow room and fresh air in the region, she said.

"I don't see us having one hog farm after another on the countryside," Rodenbiker said.