Green County's largest farm has 1,800 animals
The proposed Pinnacle Dairy would far surpass Green County's largest farm, which is permitted for about 1,800 animals, said Mark Mayer, UW Extension ag agent in Green County.
Green County has four concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs-farms with 1,000 or more animal units, he said. The county has 29,500 cows, though in the late 1970s to early 1980s, Green County had 60,000 on 600 farms, he said. Now, the county has about 257 dairy farms, and the average herd size is 115.
The county has 12 cheese plants and about 30 milk processing plants.
"We certainly have a lot of infrastructure here to process the milk," Mayer said.
He has not talked with Tuls and said he couldn't comment on the impact the additional milk would have on the local economy because he doesn't know where it is going.
- Gina Duwe
TOWN OF SYLVESTER - The owner of Rock County's largest dairy farm hopes to build a mirror image of the 5,000-cow Rock Prairie Dairy next year in the town of Sylvester, west of Brodhead in Green County.
Todd Tuls and his son, T.J., are working to sign agreements with neighbors of the proposed site to apply manure and hope to submit a permit to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources soon, Todd Tuls said. He's hoping to have all permits approved for a spring groundbreaking with milking starting by the end of 2016.
The proposed farm on Decatur-Sylvester Road near County FF would be a mirror image of the Rock Prairie Dairy, which is milking just less than 5,000 cows, Tuls said.
"Rock Prairie has been extremely successful," he said. "We're looking at repeating what we've done."
Tuls would invest $30 million in land, buildings and infrastructure and another $10 million in cattle, feed and equipment. He named the new farm Pinnacle Dairy because it's always been a goal of Tuls' to milk 20,000 cows.
"This farm would get us to that summit," he said.
Tuls milks 10,000 cows in Nebraska, where he lives. He makes near-weekly trips to Wisconsin, where T.J. manages Rock Prairie Dairy.
Rock Prairie began operations in December 2011 on Highway 14 between Janesville and Delavan two miles west of the Walworth County line.
T.J. would oversee both southern Wisconsin farms, and two of Tuls' nephews would be on-site at the Green County dairy to manage day-to-day operations, Tuls said.
Tuls noted several reasons for expanding his family farm, including reinvesting in a business they are successful at.
"God's blessed us with the ability to milk cows," Tuls said. "We want to be able to utilize our talents."
He said his nephews have been working with him for the past 18 months after growing up on a dairy in southwest Kansas. They like the dairy business and want to live in a better area, he said, noting Wisconsin has a lot to offer.
Tuls said buyers of Rock Prairie Dairy milk would like to buy more milk.
"There is a demand or need for the milk," he said.
Rock Prairie generally sells its milk to the Dairy Farmers of America, which has been sending the milk to the Dean Foods plant in Chemung, Illinois, Tuls said.
Tuls didn't want to publicly say where the milk would be sold because it could change. When he built Rock Prairie, he thought all the milk would go to a certain plant, and that changed within six months of it being built.
The new dairy would produce 40,000 gallons of milk a day.
PINNACLE DAIRY
The proposed dairy would follow Rock Prairie Dairy's model of buying crops from area farmers and working with neighboring farmers to spread manure on about 6,000 acres around the farm.
Tuls said he has agreements with the Bader family of Carrousel Farms, Monroe, for the site of the dairy but would not comment on ownership of the land. Online tax records show the land remains under Bader ownership.
He chose the Green County location for many reasons, including the wide open spaces, groundwater availability, population density, environmental impact and distances to milk plants and county roads.
Tuls already has done soil borings and excavation at the site to ensure the site is feasible, and the dairy wouldn't have any adverse impact to groundwater, he said.
The Tulses are working on contracts for the needed 6,000 acres to apply manure, and he said they have enough acres from farmers who have signed letters of intention to build a 4,000-cow dairy.
"It just takes time," he said. "We're going to submit a permit here soon to the DNR and start talking to county officials here in the next 30 to 45 days."
Large farms need a nutrient management plan, which must detail how and where livestock waste would be distributed. That plan must be submitted with the DNR application, Tuls said, along with environmental impact information. The farm also will need a number of county permits including a livestock siting permit.
Liquid manure would be injected into the ground, and solids would be applied with spreaders, Tuls said. Underground pipes possibly could be used to transport manure, he said. He said he has "nothing in our plans" for center pivots to spray manure.
Like Rock Prairie, Pinnacle would have three covered lagoons, and a fourth lagoon, the smallest, would not be covered.
Pinnacle Dairy would use 200,000 to 230,000 gallons of water a day drawn from a high-capacity well that would pull from a deeper aquifer than area private wells, Tuls said.
The farm would have 50 full-time employees. Because Tuls has multiple farms, he tries to pull expertise from his existing workforce and promote employees. He likely would bring in a team of 10 to 12 to lead new employees.
NEIGHBORS OPPOSED
Jen Riemer and her husband, Bryce, have been organizing their neighbors in hopes of preventing construction of the dairy. The couple live on Riemer Road to the east of the proposed site and farm on adjacent land with Bryce's father.
The Tulses approached the Riemers about buying corn silage and selling manure applications. The Riemers later toured the Rock Prairie Dairy, which Jen said was "enormous."
"We immediately got to work," she said, sending letters outlining what they believe are the risks of such a farm to all neighbors within a five-mile radius. In the letter, the Riemers urged landowners not to sign an easement contract or allow Tuls to spread manure on their land.
They had an "amazing response," and more than 120 people showed up for a meeting July 27 at their farm. Neighbors brought concerns to the forum, and city residents expressed worries about waterways, namely Decatur Lake in Brodhead.
Riemer started a Facebook page called "Green County Defending our Farmland." Her concerns include threats to water quality and diminished property values as well as the landscape of the rural farming community. Air quality would be impactd and there would be more truck traffic, she said.
They think their best bet is lobbying Carrousel Farms not to sell the land to Tuls.
Carrousel Farms has more than 10,000 acres in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois and raises dairy, beef and Arabian horses and grows vegetables and cash grain, according to its website.
Riemer said the farm is well known in the Monroe community for sponsoring local events, and she hopes neighbors "can convince Carrousel that it would be very bad for their reputation."
"We're really, really trying to get it stopped before it starts," she said.
She said she hopes public opinion matters to Carrousel, "and that potentially we can get enough word out there that they'll know we're just not going to roll over and play dead."
Tuls said he was surprised by Riemers' letter of opposition because the family seemed to indicate they were impressed by their tour of the Rock Prairie Dairy.
"It's change, and people have a hard time with change," he said.
He admits Rock Prairie Dairy looks different than other farms, but he said it is well kept and has a neat appearance. He said he's not worried about the opposition because there are always some people who will try to bring up issues.
He pointed to Rock Prairie to alleviate concerns, saying six wells on the property show nitrate levels decreased.
He said he knows rumors are flying and that neighbors want to talk about all the bad things this dairy could do, "and that we're going to upset the small guys and the small dairymen, and I don't know if that's really been the case in any location we're in."
Todd Tuls and his son, T.J., are working to sign agreements with neighbors of the proposed site to apply manure and hope to submit a permit to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources soon, Todd Tuls said. He's hoping to have all permits approved for a spring groundbreaking with milking starting by the end of 2016.
The proposed farm on Decatur-Sylvester Road near County FF would be a mirror image of the Rock Prairie Dairy, which is milking just less than 5,000 cows, Tuls said.
"Rock Prairie has been extremely successful," he said. "We're looking at repeating what we've done."
Tuls would invest $30 million in land, buildings and infrastructure and another $10 million in cattle, feed and equipment. He named the new farm Pinnacle Dairy because it's always been a goal of Tuls' to milk 20,000 cows.
"This farm would get us to that summit," he said.
Tuls milks 10,000 cows in Nebraska, where he lives. He makes near-weekly trips to Wisconsin, where T.J. manages Rock Prairie Dairy.
Rock Prairie began operations in December 2011 on Highway 14 between Janesville and Delavan two miles west of the Walworth County line.
T.J. would oversee both southern Wisconsin farms, and two of Tuls' nephews would be on-site at the Green County dairy to manage day-to-day operations, Tuls said.
Tuls noted several reasons for expanding his family farm, including reinvesting in a business they are successful at.
"God's blessed us with the ability to milk cows," Tuls said. "We want to be able to utilize our talents."
He said his nephews have been working with him for the past 18 months after growing up on a dairy in southwest Kansas. They like the dairy business and want to live in a better area, he said, noting Wisconsin has a lot to offer.
Tuls said buyers of Rock Prairie Dairy milk would like to buy more milk.
"There is a demand or need for the milk," he said.
Rock Prairie generally sells its milk to the Dairy Farmers of America, which has been sending the milk to the Dean Foods plant in Chemung, Illinois, Tuls said.
Tuls didn't want to publicly say where the milk would be sold because it could change. When he built Rock Prairie, he thought all the milk would go to a certain plant, and that changed within six months of it being built.
The new dairy would produce 40,000 gallons of milk a day.
PINNACLE DAIRY
The proposed dairy would follow Rock Prairie Dairy's model of buying crops from area farmers and working with neighboring farmers to spread manure on about 6,000 acres around the farm.
Tuls said he has agreements with the Bader family of Carrousel Farms, Monroe, for the site of the dairy but would not comment on ownership of the land. Online tax records show the land remains under Bader ownership.
He chose the Green County location for many reasons, including the wide open spaces, groundwater availability, population density, environmental impact and distances to milk plants and county roads.
Tuls already has done soil borings and excavation at the site to ensure the site is feasible, and the dairy wouldn't have any adverse impact to groundwater, he said.
The Tulses are working on contracts for the needed 6,000 acres to apply manure, and he said they have enough acres from farmers who have signed letters of intention to build a 4,000-cow dairy.
"It just takes time," he said. "We're going to submit a permit here soon to the DNR and start talking to county officials here in the next 30 to 45 days."
Large farms need a nutrient management plan, which must detail how and where livestock waste would be distributed. That plan must be submitted with the DNR application, Tuls said, along with environmental impact information. The farm also will need a number of county permits including a livestock siting permit.
Liquid manure would be injected into the ground, and solids would be applied with spreaders, Tuls said. Underground pipes possibly could be used to transport manure, he said. He said he has "nothing in our plans" for center pivots to spray manure.
Like Rock Prairie, Pinnacle would have three covered lagoons, and a fourth lagoon, the smallest, would not be covered.
Pinnacle Dairy would use 200,000 to 230,000 gallons of water a day drawn from a high-capacity well that would pull from a deeper aquifer than area private wells, Tuls said.
The farm would have 50 full-time employees. Because Tuls has multiple farms, he tries to pull expertise from his existing workforce and promote employees. He likely would bring in a team of 10 to 12 to lead new employees.
NEIGHBORS OPPOSED
Jen Riemer and her husband, Bryce, have been organizing their neighbors in hopes of preventing construction of the dairy. The couple live on Riemer Road to the east of the proposed site and farm on adjacent land with Bryce's father.
The Tulses approached the Riemers about buying corn silage and selling manure applications. The Riemers later toured the Rock Prairie Dairy, which Jen said was "enormous."
"We immediately got to work," she said, sending letters outlining what they believe are the risks of such a farm to all neighbors within a five-mile radius. In the letter, the Riemers urged landowners not to sign an easement contract or allow Tuls to spread manure on their land.
They had an "amazing response," and more than 120 people showed up for a meeting July 27 at their farm. Neighbors brought concerns to the forum, and city residents expressed worries about waterways, namely Decatur Lake in Brodhead.
Riemer started a Facebook page called "Green County Defending our Farmland." Her concerns include threats to water quality and diminished property values as well as the landscape of the rural farming community. Air quality would be impactd and there would be more truck traffic, she said.
They think their best bet is lobbying Carrousel Farms not to sell the land to Tuls.
Carrousel Farms has more than 10,000 acres in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois and raises dairy, beef and Arabian horses and grows vegetables and cash grain, according to its website.
Riemer said the farm is well known in the Monroe community for sponsoring local events, and she hopes neighbors "can convince Carrousel that it would be very bad for their reputation."
"We're really, really trying to get it stopped before it starts," she said.
She said she hopes public opinion matters to Carrousel, "and that potentially we can get enough word out there that they'll know we're just not going to roll over and play dead."
Tuls said he was surprised by Riemers' letter of opposition because the family seemed to indicate they were impressed by their tour of the Rock Prairie Dairy.
"It's change, and people have a hard time with change," he said.
He admits Rock Prairie Dairy looks different than other farms, but he said it is well kept and has a neat appearance. He said he's not worried about the opposition because there are always some people who will try to bring up issues.
He pointed to Rock Prairie to alleviate concerns, saying six wells on the property show nitrate levels decreased.
He said he knows rumors are flying and that neighbors want to talk about all the bad things this dairy could do, "and that we're going to upset the small guys and the small dairymen, and I don't know if that's really been the case in any location we're in."