I consider myself lucky to stand on the frontlines with people in western Wisconsin fighting for the preservation of our communities. Over the last two years, hundreds have turned out publicly at community meetings, rallies and board meetings. Some 400 people registered in opposition to Ridge Breeze’s plan to become the largest factory farm in the region. 100 people showed up in May to get organized in support of a legal challenge against Ridge Breeze’s permit to spread 80 million gallons of manure across Western Wisconsin. Another 100 people showed up in the Town of Maiden Rock to support the passage of an Operations Ordinance for factory farms to protect local health and property. These people are all on the side of clean water, clean air, and small farms that are threatened by Breeze’s expansion.
That kind of unity drives action. It inspired the Maiden Rock town board’s unanimous vote to pass their Operations Ordinance in December 2024. And it’s inspired many more towns that have started studying and drafting ordinances of their own. For the last two years, ordinary people and small farmers have been organizing through Grassroots Organizing Western Wisconsin (GROWW) to pass local ordinances to protect our homes. People across the area are holding strong as corporate mega-dairies try to take over Pierce County’s agricultural landscape.
But greedy special interests are trying to scare local leaders from taking action to protect our basic needs across western Wisconsin. Big ag’s most extreme lobbying group, Venture Dairy, is using our region as an example for the rest of the state–attempting to push through Ridge Breeze Dairy’s $35 million plan to expand from 1,700 to 6,500 cows. On top of that, Venture Dairy Executive Director, Kim Bremmer, has become notorious for lying to and threatening towns and counties looking to protect their land, water and roads from this nearly unregulated industry.
In 2020, Bremmer falsely claimed that it was a felony for Polk County supervisors to enact a CAFO moratorium. The Wisconsin Counties Association’s general counsel wrote a letter publicly debunking this ridiculous claim.
Just last month, Bremmer intimidated the Town of Pepin board by claiming they’d face legal action if they passed an ordinance. Last spring, her lawyer lied point blank to town board members in Gilman and Rock Elm, claiming that the state regulates the hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and particulate air pollution spewed by hundreds of fans running 24/7.
The truth is that, thanks to the efforts of industry lobbyists whittling down and undermining state oversight, our communities have been left to handle these problems on our own. There are just a few handfuls of staff trying to oversee regulation of the more than 330 factory farms across Wisconsin. But that’s still too much for Bremmer and Venture Dairy. They are behind a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s authority to protect water quality from factory farms. If they get their way, there will be no DNR regulations for hundreds of factory farms across the state. That lawsuit was thrown out by a Calumet County judge last year, but Venture Dairy has since appealed the decision.
Venture Dairy will continue peddling disinformation so long as corporate mega-dairies keep the funding going. Founding members include Todd Tuls, former owner of the Emerald Sky Dairy in St Croix County. In Emerald, the town well - only half-a-mile away from the facility – has nitrate levels that have reached as high as 6 times the Safe Drinking Water standards. Emerald Sky had a 300,000 gallon manure spill in 2016 that went unreported for months before being reported by a neighbor. Emerald Sky has since been sold to Breeze Dairy Group, owners of Ridge Breeze in Pierce County.
Here in Western Wisconsin, people are already feeling the effects of living near factory farms like Ridge Breeze and Emerald Sky. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In the face of industry opposition, we have managed to build the strongest organizing effort in opposition to the corporate consolidation of the agriculture industry that is taking place across the state. And as a result, our victories keep coming. Things like the DNR recently removing 2,000 acres of faulty land from Ridge Breeze’s Nutrient Management Plan, winning a $45,000 groundwater testing program in Pierce County, and more were only made possible as a result of the organizing done by regular people working together in GROWW.
Regular people have decided that we won’t stand idly by as paid lobbyists like Kim Bremmer lie, bully, and intimidate us so they can squeeze even more profit out of our communities. Regular people have decided the future of Pierce County is worth fighting for, but the only way to change the path we’re on is to get organized. It’s time to join together with your neighbors who share your vision for your community and make a plan to bring change. It’s going to take a lot of power to stand up to the lies of Venture Dairy and Ridge Breeze. What are you willing to do in order to make sure your home is safe?