Concerns have been expressed about the development of North Carolina’s hog industry in poor and non-white communities of the state. Approximately 2,500 North Carolina hog opeations locations were examined in relation to racial, economic and water source and characteristics of census block groups. Poisson regression was used to determine relationships between racial, economic and water supply to intensive hog operations after adjusting for population density.

There were approximately 7.2 more hog operations in areas in the rngae of 21-100% poverty as compared to areas with less than 5% poverty, after making adjustments for population density. Areas with non-white residents between 8.8 – 100% were five times more likely to have a hog operation within 1-2 miles of their residence, as compared to areas with less than 5 % of the population represented by non-white residents after adjusting for population density. Hog operations were reported the greatest in areas of high poverty and a large non-white contingent, as well these operations were more likely to be operated by a corporate organization, opposed to independent producers.