The following information was submitted to the letter to the editor information form on www.piercecountyjournal.news:
first name: Mary Anne
last name: Wise
address: N301 250th Street
…
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To the editor,
This letter addresses false claims by industrial livestock lobbyists about efforts in Maiden Rock Township to protect our town with local ordinances.
Industrial livestock operations are moving into our county. One local proposal would produce 80 million gallons of raw waste spread annually over 7,500 acres. Convoys of an estimated 12,000 trucks would be required to disperse heavy loads that exceed weight limits of many township roads. Knowing all township family farms and households rely upon well water that is safe to drink, and that all township residents rely on safe township roads, and concerned that our public health relies upon self reporting by industrial farm operators and monitoring by a thinly staffed DNR, in March 2024 the Maiden Rock Town Board took action.
Seven citizens volunteered to study the possible impacts of this industry on our community.
Participation was open to any township resident. A former volunteer firefighter, a long-serving Town Supervisor, and others with family farm backgrounds participated. Our study included presentations by experts and a site visit to an industrial dairy.
After nine months, 18 public meetings, and one public hearing, we agreed that industrial-
scale farming - a practice in Pierce County that is barely 20-years old - has outstripped the county and state's capacity to safeguard our public health. We unanimously recommended that our township adopt an Operations Ordinance.
The ordinance is not a ban. Instead, industrial livestock operators follow an open process and develop plans that address community concerns. The ordinance applies to livestock operations with more than 55,000 turkeys, 125,000 chickens, 1,000 cattle, 700 dairy cows, or 2,500 pigs.
Claims by industry lobbyists and others stating the ordinance will impact commodity growers and all family farms (i.e., growers who do not exceed the DNR’s CAFO limit) are false. Read the draft ordinance here: www.townofmaidenrock.info
Mary Anne Wise
Chair of the Maiden Rock Operations Ordinance Study Commission
Town of Maiden Rock
