The proposed farm will house six to seven million chickens per year on 

1200 acres near Maldon. 

Baringhup residents Julia Meere and Lyn Miller have painted several large signs in opposition to the farm and put them up on fences lining the town.

“I have not spoken to one person in this town who wants it,” Mrs Meere said.

“It’s terribly inappropriate to have a broiler farm near schools or towns.”

She said residents were concerned about the smell, the noise the farm would produce and the potential for airborne diseases.

Mrs Meere said there was no benefit to the community from having a farm so close to town.

“The roads are very small they’re travelling around and totally inadequate for big trucks,” she said. 

“They will need an awful amount of water for that many birds.

“They are only offering a small amount of jobs because it’s automated. For the amount of jobs they’ll get, people will leave the district because of the smell. 

“Our houses will devalue; it will impact on heaps of people.”

The applicant for the proposed broiler farm, Michael Vukadinovic, said the farm met all planning requirements and abided by the Victorian Code for Broiler Farms. “We are using state-of-the-art technology to minimise odour and noise,” Mr Vukadinovic said.

“Under the requirements of the broiler planning code, it has to be more than 

550 metres from nearest sensitive zone and it is four kilometres from town.”

Mr Vukadinovic, who owns broiler farms in Geelong and Officer, said he had tried to talk to the community about the plans.

“I’ve tried to speak at town meetings to explain the impact on the town and how it will be designed, but they don’t want to listen to me,” he said. 

He said he had spent more than two years looking for suitable land on which to build the farm and would be working with Mount Alexander Shire Council to get the farm up and running.

“It’s really the best site to put up the farm,” he said.

But the Baringhup residents plan to keep fighting.

“We love our area. We have a right to have clean air and water,” Mrs Meere said.