Nearly 200 people filled the meeting room and the adjacent hallways in the Crawford County Administration Building in Prairie du Chien Monday night for a public hearing on a permit application from A.V. Roth, of rural Wauzeka Township.

Roth, a third-generation Crawford County farmer, wants to double the size of his hog farm farrowing operation from 1,450 sows to 2,900. It would be the first concentrated animal feeding operation in Crawford County's history.

"Anything I have done in this period of expansion has been done according to the rules and regulations of the state of Wisconsin and local government," Roth said.

Roth, whose family has spent 117 years on the same land, said he hopes to dispel some myths, including one that says 2,900 sows are too many animals for one area, and another that expanding his operation will have an impact on tourism in Crawford County.