TOWN OF GILMAN — The Gilman Town Board finds themselves in the same situation as many of western Wisconsin’s townships, weighing the pros and cons of an operations ordinance to restrict Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) during a March 12 meeting.
As part of the process, the board opened up the meeting to the public with 10 minutes allotted to each side to state their cases in favor and against an ordinance.
First up was the side against an ordinance, with Fredrikson & Byron lawyer Delanie Breuer leading the speaking window representing Venture Dairy Coop. Breuer focused on the legality of the ordinance. No ordinance has been drafted yet in Gilman, but the smaller townships in the area have been exploring them in recent months, including Maiden Rock passing one in December and Rock Elm exploring one for themselves.
“I don’t envy you. You’re in a tough spot between two important groups,” Breuer said. “Loud voices of advocacy on one side and you have sort of the economic engine of the state, the agriculture industry, on the other side.”
Breuer said the Town of Eureka in Polk County is already being litigated for their ordinance and Maiden Rock could be headed down a similar path. Breuer said advocacy groups are coming in from outside of the area while Venture Dairy Coop. represents farmers within it, but the residents are sometimes not the loudest in the room.
“There’s a lot of it that is just clearly unlawful for better or worse,” Breuer said. “Townships have a certain level of authority, and it’s an important authority, but it’s limited. And it’s up to the legislature to decide what townships, where they can and can’t regulate.”
CAFOs have to get a permit in Wisconsin that regulates issues like where the farms can spread manure and water and air protections.
“The ones that the CAFOs have to get are actually more complex and difficult to obtain than a paper mill or a foundry,” Breuer said. “They really are heavily regulated at the state level.”
Because of this, Breuer said the ordinances townships are proposing are preempted under state law. Breuer encouraged Gilman to work with an attorney and ask them to point out where the town is given the authority in statutes.
“The ordinance that we’ve seen circulated is an anti-CAFO ordinance,” Breuer said. “That is simply not lawful.”
To conclude, Breuer mentioned even if Gilman overcomes the legal hurdle, there will be complaints that the board is enforcing it too much or too little.
“You’re going to be putting yourself in the chair of regulators,” Breuer said. “I hope these chairs are comfortable, cause you’re going to be here a lot.”
Board Supervisor Mike Traynor said 300 people signed a lawsuit against Central Sands Dairy because hundreds of wells in the area were contaminated with direct links to the dairy. Because of this, the CAFO was closed down.
“So, my question is, is it better to wait until after the fact when trying to bring litigation and then close down an operation of that size, or are we better off to try to find some means of being sure that what happened there doesn’t happen here,” Traynor said.
Breuer said the state has increased requirements and standards in recent years, including decreasing area CAFOs can spread manure. Chair Phil Verges said bodies that are supposed to regulate these situations, like the Department of Natural Resources, have failed the area in the past, which is why they feel it is important at the very least to look into an ordinance.
Tom Manley of the Gilman Plan Commission, who has spoken on the issue in the past including at a DNR public hearing, said existing regulations are not getting the job done. He cited Emerald Township (in St. Croix County) residents moving out because they could no longer drink the water safely due to CAFO contamination.
“The idea that the existing regulation is solving the problem is just a completely bogus narrative,” Manley said.
Manley mentioned the ordinances do not ban CAFOs in the area; they serve to limit risks for the townships.
“I want to push back on that narrative too. This idea that it’s all just a bunch of anti-agriculture city slickers who are raising these concerns,” Manley said. “The simple fact is half the people in GROWW [GrassRoots Organizing Western Wisconsin] are engaged in agriculture.
“There are no farms in Gilman Township or anywhere else that have closed because of some anti-agriculture sentiment,” Manley said. “It’s not the reason there’s only two or three people still milking cows here. The reason is the entire industry has consolidated and you’ve got 10,000 animal units in one place. There’s only demand for so much milk.”
Steve Brand, owner of Brandvale Dairy near Ellsworth, (one of four Pierce County CAFOs), said dairies with 100 cows or less can no longer make a living like they used to and no young people are looking to take over that size of farm.
With 48 miles of road to maintain and around a $300,000 annual road budget, Manley said the entirety of the budget gets used up quickly if a large operator is in the area.
“It doesn’t take very many big operators like that unregulated to do millions of dollars’ worth of damage to township roads,” Manley said. “It’s not an imagined impact. It’s a real impact.”
Brand asked Manley if his mind is made up already, and Manley said based on his years of navigating the issues, his mind is set.
Brand said the ordinances bring a lot of costs to the farmers to get experts to come in and help get the farm to CAFO status and in compliance with the testing regulations an ordinance can bring. Brand mentioned his farm started as a 40-cow dairy, and his nitrate levels are lower now than ever before. He said they are already subject to manure spreading requirements and more at the state level.
Danny Akenson, a field organizer for GROWW (a nonprofit grassroots group that tackles issues impacting families, homes, and communities), spoke on the credibility of the Venture Dairy group, citing a 2020 letter that warned Polk County that a moratorium on CAFOs could be a felony. Akenson mentioned responses from the Wisconsin Counties Association and an attorney who said it was a false claim.
“This is an organization also that is actively suing the DNR over their ability to regulate CAFOs,” Akenson said. “So to hear that everything is being handled at the state level from an organization that is trying to strip away regulations at the state level is a little bit ironic.”
The Venture group was also at the Rock Elm Town Board meeting a day prior to talk about the ordinance.
“Just yesterday at the Rock Elm board meeting, they went through [attorney] Bob Loberg’s notes on the operations ordinance where he suggested actually making the ordinance stronger and increasing the fines,” Akenson said.
Assuring the board, Akenson said lawyers would represent the town for little to no cost because they know the importance of the local protection.
“If I have anything to leave you with, it’s the fact that they are bringing people from across the state to shut down conversations about these ordinances entirely,” Akenson said.
He said there is a major distinction between family farms that were built in the area and “mega dairies” that are owned from afar.
A Rock Elm farmer expressed frustration with CAFOs, talking about the positives they bring to the community but not showing it through actions.
“I unfortunately missed our meeting where our town board got shaken down by Delanie and the gang over here,” she said. “By the way, I’m a farmer Delanie, and you do not represent me.”
She cited a Pierce County Journal article where the Breeze Dairy Group CEO said “We’re good operators, and we’ll prove ourselves.” She said it was ironic because people at the Rock Elm meeting and reports to the police have told of manure-hauling trucks speeding, skipping stop signs and jake-braking.
Pierce Farmers United, a group that has spoken against the Maiden Rock ordinance in the past, submitted a statement to the Journal after the meeting.
“The hostility in the room at Gilman township is a reflection of the disconnect and misinformation people have about the full-time farmers who produce food for the masses, according to Mary Brand, Pierce Farmers United.
“Good roads are a priority for all townships and farmers want that as well. We know that other townships in our county have good collaborative working relationships with CAFO farms where farmers follow the road routes given to them by the townships. These relationships have been in existence for some time and are something farmers want to continue. It is also good for the public to know that farmers have paid the townships for road damage that occurs because of their harvesting or hauling. Farmers typically pay as much as 60-70% more in taxes than other residents in their township which is a benefit to that township,” Brand said.
“We understand the concern residents have about larger-scale agriculture but in fact, there has not been a new CAFO permitted in Wisconsin since 2018. Growing a farm to 1,000 animal units is an expensive proposition with many things to consider including cost and the ability to make a profit, regulations, feed supply, animal housing and labor and management requirements. Because of these factors, it is not a quick and easy business decision and takes much planning and foresight so the idea that Pierce County will be overrun with CAFOs illustrates the lack of understanding many people have about farming. In fact, there are only four CAFO’s in Pierce County, none in Gilman township,” said Brand.”
The Plan Commission is leading the investigation into an ordinance for Gilman. Manley said they will continue to hold public meetings, hearings and listen to what other townships have to say.