Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation President Kevin Krentz issued the following statement regarding a pending lawsuit challenging the lawfulness of the Town of Laketown’s ordinance restricting farms in the township:
“Wisconsin Farm Bureau has joined the plaintiffs in the pending Polk County Circuit Court lawsuit challenging the lawfulness of an ordinance in the Town of Laketown that imposes severe licensing, regulatory and operational restrictions on farms. The ordinance imposes stringent restrictions and regulations on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and those who lease agricultural lands to them.
The ordinance violates Wisconsin’s livestock siting law and regulations adopted by the Wisconsin legislature and Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection (DATCP). This is burdensome for farmers, landowners and taxpayers within the township and threatens the livelihood of Wisconsin farmers.
Wisconsin agriculture contributes $104.8 billion annually to Wisconsin’s economy; this ordinance threatens agriculture’s ability to remain efficient and profitable. The lawsuit seeks to invalidate the ordinance so agriculture can remain governed by Wisconsin’s uniform law.”
randall breeden says
CAFOs are NOT farms. As a retired U.S. EPA Geohydrologist, I can assure you that the vast quantity of manure and liquid waste produced and subsequently applied to the land surface to be allowed to infiltrate into the soil will reach shallow ground water and contaminate it. Shallow ground water also discharges to streams and provides “Base Flow” to them, hence the ground water will also contaminate surface water streams. In addition, land applied wastes will also simply migrate off the surface as “run-off” directly into streams, ponds, and lakes thus contaminating them directly. At a minimum, a detailed, calibrated, and scientifically accepted computer model should be developed (using real input data) to show what the short and long-term effects on the water resources will be.
Glen Nelson says
The siting law is not reflective of changes that have been made in farrning methods. The Farm Bureau should be seeking law that better addresses current practices, rather than seeking to overpower local communities. The current siting laws are purposely antiquated by interests who go far outside of the Agricultural community. Protecting companies from their neglect and abuse of the environment, in effect shifting costs of cleanup onto the State of Wisconsin.