Estimating the Impact of Swine Feedlots on Residential Values in Southern Minnesota

A hedonic analysis, or revealed preference analysis, was used to estimate the effect of hog barn proximity on prices of rural residents’ real estate in the southern region of Minnesota using Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and county home sales data. Explanatory variables in the dataset include number of bedrooms and bathrooms, lot size, age of home, year sold, feedlot characteristics, and proximity calculated using GIS software. This analysis included 2,795 observations in Blue Earth County, Jackson County, and Freeborn County from 2017 to 2020 and reveals that homes located between one-half to one mile away from swine feedlots were associated with an increase in value, whereas a distance of less than one-half mile away was not found to have an effect.