Five years ago, a partnership between hog farmers and environmentalists may have seemed as unlikely as sprouts on a BBQ sandwich. Today, members of our two groups are working toward a common goal: making hog production in North Carolina profitable and clean.

The partnership is timely. Researchers at N.C. State University have spent five years studying new and better ways to manage hog waste. This month they will release a report that is expected to identify five systems that meet improved air and water quality standards.

The findings provide a logical starting point for turning academic research into on-the-ground reality, and symbolize the significant progress that has been made in the collective thinking about hog farms.

Large-scale hog farming in the state is relatively new. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, raising hogs on contract offered a reliable income to farmers and allowed many, including the Stokes family, to keep their farms. In just a few short years, North Carolina had become the second largest producer in the country.

As farmers focused on growing their new operations, concerns grew about the environmental effects of hog farming. The rupture of a lagoon at Oceanview Farms in 1995, among other factors, led to a moratorium on new hog farms in 1997. In 1999, when Hurricane Floyd drenched Eastern North Carolina with 54 inches of rain, many farmers were successful in pumping out the flood waters in a responsible manner, but others were not.

Adding to the water pollution concerns, in the late 1990s scientists recognized that the release of ammonia nitrogen from barns and lagoons raises additional challenges. And odor from hog barns and sprayfields has been a continuing source of friction between farmers and neighbors.

All the while, the moratorium, although preventing new construction, did little to reduce animosity between the pork industry and environmental and community groups. And even less progress was being made toward finding solutions.

• • •

In 2000, North Carolina reached a turning point when Smithfield Foods and Premium Standard Farms reached an agreement with then-Attorney General Mike Easley to spend over $17 million to research treatment alternatives. With support from environmental groups, Frontline Farmers, an association of contract hog farmers, soon joined the process to ensure that farmers were directly involved in the search for cleaner waste treatments.

Involving farmers has paid off. Once Frontline had a seat at the table, several of its members volunteered to test new technologies on their farms. With the help of Sustainable North Carolina and other groups, Frontline received a grant to put one of the alternative waste systems on the ground at Little Creek Hog Farms. The participation of farmers in the process gave all stakeholders a better appreciation of each other and helped break down barriers that had prevented the groups from working together.

Over time many farmers began to realize that the environmentalists involved in the process are not out to put them out of business, and environmentalists began to see that some farmers are ready to move beyond lagoons to cleaner waste systems. Now that the technology research is nearing completion, those farmers and environmentalists are committed to determining not whether but how to put cleaner technologies on the ground efficiently and affordably.

• • •

We cannot be intimidated by the current estimated costs of new technologies. Many factors will help drive down the price. Research has given technology providers a clear understanding of acceptable standards, which will help them more efficiently meet those targets. History also has shown that the cost of pollution controls quickly declines as engineers learn more about the systems and as economies of scale are realized.

New markets for hog waste byproducts will be developed, which will further reduce costs, and soon farmers may even receive credits -- and therefore money -- for capturing greenhouse gases that fuel the discussion over global warming. And, finally, contributions from major pork companies, federal farm bill programs and other state and federal financial incentives can help make conversion affordable for farmers.

Hog farmers and environmentalists now know that when they stop pointing fingers and work together, real progress can be made. But getting cleaner technologies on the ground won't happen at the flip of a switch. Leadership is needed now to bring farmers, environmentalists, businesses and policymakers together to develop a cooperative plan for moving research to reality.

We call upon Governor Easley, Attorney General Roy Cooper and lawmakers to take the lead in this effort now. We cannot succeed without their leadership.

Note to readers: Garry Trudeau is on vacation. This week's "Doonesbury" comics are reruns.

(Chuck Stokes is a fifth-generation hog farmer in Ayden and is co-founder of Frontline Farmers. Daniel Whittle is an attorney with the North Carolina office of Environmental Defense.)