“We will never get our clean water back. I’m not saying no to CAFOs. Let’s put them on pause to get more information on how to protect our water better.””

Sue Christopher, town of Gilman, Maple Leaf Orchard

The Pierce County Land Conservation Committee voted 3-2 Tuesday, June 27 to recommend establishing a temporary six-month moratorium on livestock expansion in Pierce County to the Board of Supervisors. The moratorium could be expanded to 12 months and would apply only to Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), which have 1,000 animal units or more.

Dean Bergseng, Sheila Lorentz and Mel Pittman voted in favor of the moratorium, while Chair Jerry Kosin and Dan Puhrmann voted against. The Pierce County Board will consider the moratorium recommendation at its August meeting.

A group of Pierce County residents and small family farmers called People Protecting Pierce started a petition calling for Pierce County to enact the moratorium. More than 1,000 people have signed it, with 730 of those living in the county. The petition was sparked when Ridge Breeze officials approached the Salem Town Board in 2022 talking about expanding its herd from 1,600 or so cows to 5,000.

More than 10 people spoke in favor of the moratorium, while two spoke against it during public comment, including Kim Bremmer of Venture Dairy Cooperative, who said working with landowners and farmers doesn’t mean moratoriums limiting expansion.

“People attack CAFO farms all around the state without wanting to listen with an open mind,” Bremmer said. “There’s no one way, one size fits all way to farm.”

Doug Weiss, a River Falls resident who owns a farm with wife Nancy near Ridge Breeze Dairy in the town of Salem, asked the committee what the benefit of allowing a CAFO to expand is to the county. Pittman answered, saying if barns or facilities are built, they increase the amount of property taxes paid to the township and county. He admitted there’s no other real benefit to the county.

“I have listened to many points of view,” Pittman said. “I’ve tried to remain as open-minded as I could coming to this meeting today. In addition to the (Land Conservation) mission statement, my basic background is I’m a person who would prefer less government in our lives than more government control if it’s possible. Along that line, how much do we want to force people to do what we don’t want them to do?”

He said people shouldn’t point the finger at Ridge Breeze because other businesses or entities are “as big or a bigger problem than they are.”

“Let’s not point the finger at them because they are not from this area right now,” Pittman said as people in the audience exclaimed. “You can smirk all you want, but there’s a lot of people in this country and in this world that don’t do things by the book too. Are we going to condemn all CAFOs because a few people are bad actors?”

Phil Kasian, El Paso, spoke in favor of the moratorium. He owns a business on the Rush River.

“We need to step back and make sure all of the people who live in the county and who live in the township are responded to,” Kashian said.

Weiss reminded the committee of its mission statement to protect and enhance soil and water resources. Enhance means leave in better condition than when you started, he said.

“There are just four CAFOs (in Pierce County) and they’re all growing and there will be more if you keep on. Neighbors’ wells and their own are contaminated. We’re not against agriculture at all. Many of us are farmers.

“We need effective ordinances to protect our basic human rights of clean air, clean water and clean land.”

Weiss encouraged the committee to look to other counties that have more stringent ordinances in place regarding water quality and CAFOs.

“Why do we have law and order in this country? Because there are bad actors,” Weiss said. “Why do we have police, why do we have the EPA? Why have rules at all?”

Mary Anne Weiss, Maiden Rock township, said no one is asking for no CAFOs.

“We’re asking, can we hit the pause button please?” she said.

She also spoke of a dozen farmers in Salem township who have contaminated wells and decreased property values because of those wells and the smells of the nearby CAFO.

“Is the benefit going to offset the property values and taxes when all of those people who have suffered and their taxes will go down?” she asked.

She also showed the committee photos of manure that ran onto a neighbor’s property after being spread prior to a 4-inch rain.

“The rain took the manure onto a neighbor’s property, into the Rush and Nugget Lake,” Wise said. “And what they didn’t say is all the water’s full of shit.”

Town of Union resident Samantha Bowen, who lives between Fetzer Farms and Ridge Breeze, spoke to the committee with her daughter Vanessa. They both suffered nitrate poisoning from their contaminated well.

“We matter. If it were easy to get up and leave today, I would. Because I’m failing my children and I’m not keeping them safe,” Samantha Bowen said. “We’re deep-rooted in this community and it’s not that simple, so I decided to fight for this community and what is right. I’d be honored if you’d fight with me and not against me. We are the future of Pierce County, not you.”

Bill Hogseth, organizing director of GROWW, spoke on behalf of 862 Pierce County residents who are members of the organization.

“If I were to sum up our concerns, it’s that Pierce County goes down the same path of Kewanuee County, with similarly fractured karst bedrock,” Hogseth said. “Private well contamination is causing 250 illnesses every single year, related to E. coli, cryptosporidium, brown water coming out of faucets. We have the opportunity to choose a different outcome. A moratorium is a way to ensure we’re heading down the right path. Karst bedrock puts us into a precarious situation.”

Sue Christopher, who owns Maple Leaf Orchard in Gilman Township with husband Mark, said once water is contaminated, fines aren’t going to fix it.

“We will never get our clean water back,” Christopher said. “I’m not saying no to CAFOs. Let’s put them on pause to get more information on how to protect our water better.”

Several Kiap-Tu-Wish Trout Unlimited representatives spoke as well, including Rainbow Barry, River Falls. She said maps from a UW-Stevens Point water study show several wells next to Ridge Breeze have excessive amounts of nitrate over or very near the 10 mg/l limit.

“There’s not room for error in that zone,” Barry said. “We can’t add more nitrate to the ground.”

The water study indicated that 1 in 4 Pierce County wells test positive for a bacteria usually associated with manure. More than half of wells test positive for atrazine, an agricultural herbicide, she said.

“We should already be concerned about what is already in our groundwater,” Barry said. “These things come from agriculture. They are meant to stay on the surface; they didn’t. They snuck through the holes in our filtration system. Fractures in bedrock often go undiscovered, bringing chemicals into our groundwater. Do our ecological systems have the leeway to absorb those nutrients? Our soils are already adequately saturated with nitrates and phosphates. CAFOs are regulated as a point source of pollution in terms of handling and storage. You have already recognized and put the waste storage ordinance in place. When manure is spread, it’s a non-point source form of pollution.”

Hager City farmer Emmet Fisher pointed out that in the 90s, people went from 60 cows to 200 to stay afloat. In his opinion, going from 2,000 to 5,000 is about making money.

“The (milk) price is already rock bottom,” he said. “We’re losing 500 dairy farms per year. I know we’re not going back to those days, but those people are still out there.”

Town of Ellsworth resident, farmer and former county board supervisor Brian O’Connell encouraged the committee to create ordinances that are not reactive, but that prevent pollution in the first place.

“Where should we start? Look at current rules and envision that a problem has occurred? Does it react and not fix it, or does it keep the problem from happening? My suspicion is that many of the rules currently on the books are reactive,” O’Connell said.

Greg Saueressig, who “grew up in spitting distance from Fetzer Farms and Ridge Breeze,” believes manure management is the key topic. His brother allows Ridge Breeze to spread manure on his land and said they did a remarkable job.

“Is it possible to have a collaborative effort between everyone?” he asked. “A frank discussion between parties in critical.”

Gregg Wolf, CEO of Breeze Dairy Group, said he came to the hearing to listen, but had to speak up when all he heard were negative comments.

“I think there’s opportunity for more education. Nitrates can come from manure, but the most likely cause is from synthetic fertilizers,” Wolf said. “If somebody spreads fertilizer on their lawns in the county, it can become nitrates in the water.”

He spoke of the benefits of alfalfa keeping nitrates from leaching into the groundwater and how he’d like to see it used more in the county.

Tim Hennessey, of River Falls, introduced the idea of risk vs. benefit in his comments.

“Who benefits and who takes the risk? All I can see at this point is I don’t think the community is very well-informed about this expansion,” Hennessey said. “Only 730 (Pierce County) people signed the petition because it was an email effort between neighbors and friends. The citizens are taking the risk especially if we don’t know the extent of how they would deal with the manure and this enormous pollution risk. A very small group of people benefit from this. The farm benefits because they can make a huge profit. The community takes a big risk in jeopardizing the aquifer. How have other counties successfully implemented rules?”

Committee discussion

Lorentz questioned why wouldn’t the county want to do a moratorium?

“It’s not penalizing the CAFOs, it’s not saying they can’t exist, it’s just taking time to examine the situation. To determine the best way to move forward with this very large concern,” Lorentz said. “I don’t understand what there is to be afraid of in doing a moratorium.”

Some farmers have said no one cares about the soil and the water more than a farmer, she said. “But if that’s the case, then why are they opposed to a moratorium?” Lorentz said. “I too believe in freedom from government control, not red tape. But that is freedom for the individual person, not for a corporation that is going to have a negative effect on a person’s freedom, their health.”

The benefit vs. risk concept is a wise statement, she added.

“Any wise business does research on things and government is a business,” Lorentz said. “I can’t imagine why we wouldn’t want to research this.”

Bergseng said even if the county passes a moratorium, the DNR can still permit high capacity wells, which he doesn’t like.

Puhrmann asked what would be studied and by whom during the moratorium. Webb said a variety of people, maybe a task force, would gather to discuss the current state of the county’s resources and options for different ordinances that could add additional water protection. The moratorium’s language would go before Corporation Counsel, who would advise which vehicle would be used to enact and enforce it. A committee would be empowered by the county board to develop a path forward regarding studies.

“You don’t want to limit what you look at,” Webb said. “For example, a groundwater study committee could look at everything that affects groundwater, such as commercial fertilizer, etc.”

The county has been discussing the waste storage ordinance, for example, since December, Webb said. He pointed out that in 2011, 2016 and 2021, land and water resources management planning hearings were open to the public.

“I expect to see lots of people attending future meetings,” he said. “I’ve been in resource protection for 31 years. If we’re going to look at this comprehensively, we’d be selling ourselves very short if we’re only looking at four CAFOs.”

He said an ag performance standards ordinance would apply to every acre of land in Pierce County, which Pittman said could be cost prohibitive to the county as far as enforcement. Every agricultural acre would be required to have a nutrient management plan.

“This is a huge issue, but it does not obfuscate your responsibility,” Wise retorted. “This group is not going away. It will grow to four times the size by the next time we gather.”

Ridge Breeze

Wolf confirmed in a June 14 email that Ridge Breeze has submitted plans to build another waste storage facility, located at W2686 390^th Ave., Maiden Rock. Wolf approached the Salem Town Plan Commission in June 2022 about expanding Ridge Breeze’s herd to 5,000 cows. He told The Journal in May that nothing has been submitted to the DNR or county regarding an expansion. He also said no expansion plans were in place.  

“This request for additional manure storage is strictly a management decision based on current needs of the dairy,” Wolf said. “We would apply for this manure storage even if we weren’t talking about expansion down the road.”

The waste storage facility application submitted to the DNR said the concrete-soil composite lined facility will be 330-by-330-by 20 feet and will hold 10.9 million gallons of manure. The group also plans to submit another waste storage facility application (for a fourth structure) at a later date. That facility would be adjacent to this one. 

Pierce County Land Management Director Andy Pichotta confirmed Friday, June 30 that Ridge Breeze submitted and was granted a land use permit May 18 to construct one freestanding barn (489-by-1,020 feet), one breezeway (60-by-85 feet), one milking parlor (146-by 528 feet) and one barn (280-by-120 feet).

Pichotta said agricultural structures are a permitted use, so the Land Management Committee did not have to vote on the permits. He also said no discussion occurred on the number of animals to be housed in the structures.

Wolf did not respond to an email request before deadline for comment on a possible livestock expansion.

'Right to Harm' documentary

People Protecting Pierce and GROWW will be showing the documentary “Right to Harm” at two public showings in July.

The documentary shared the stories of five rural communities that suffered devastating health impacts thanks to factory farms.

“Filmed across the country, the documentary chronicles the failures of state agencies to regulate industrial animal agriculture. These facilities produce millions of gallons of untreated waste that destroys the quality of life for their communities. Fed up with the lack of regulation, these disenfranchised citizens band together to demand justice from their legislators,” the documentary description reads.

“Manure runoff from CAFOs can pollute streams, lakes, and wetlands, while improper application of manure, manure spills, and leaking storage structures can contaminate our drinking water. Contamination of private well drinking water in Pierce County has risen from 8.8% in 1990 to 16.6% in 2022 per data from the Pierce County Land Conservation Department, the GROWW website states.

The documentary will be shown, free to the public, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 11 at River Falls Public Library (140 Union St) and from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, July 12 at Spring Valley Public Library (E121 Second St.) A discussion will follow.