MONROE - Democratic lawmakers representing Green County say they don't oppose large-scale farms, but they do have concerns, including where they are sited and how they are monitored.
The Green County Board of Supervisors hosted Sen. Janis Ringhand of Evansville, who represents Senate District 15; Rep. Mark Spreitzer of Beloit, who represents Assembly District 45; and Rep. Sondy Pope of Mount Horeb, who represents Assembly District 80, at its meeting Tuesday for a discussion on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs. Each represents a portion of Green County.
Not attending were Rep. Todd Novak of Assembly District 51 and Sen. Howard Marklein of Senate District 17, both Republicans, whose districts include the city of Monroe.
CAFOs, or large-scale farms, have generated intense debate in Green County recently after Pinnacle Dairy proposed building a 5,800-cow dairy on 127 acres on County FF and Decatur-Sylvester Road. Throughout the application process, residents voiced persistent concerns about possible environmental damage from the facility, particularly groundwater contamination from manure generated.
The county Land and Water Conservation Committee voted unanimously to approve the facility earlier this month but added stipulations from Green County Conservationist Todd Jenson to help address concerns.
County board members on Tuesday shared some of their own concerns.
Supervisor Jerry Guth questioned why the application fee for a large-scale farm is only $1,000, when the time needed to investigate prospective CAFOs could generate costs that greatly exceed that.
Jenson said the county spent about $50,000 in staff hours on the Pinnacle application.
Supervisor Jeff Williams, who said he owns with his brother a farm with more than 1,000 cows, agreed that the application fee is too low. He suggested a graduated fee based on animal units, so those intending to build larger farms pay more due to the extra work.
Ringhand and Spreitzer concurred and said the fee could be looked at.
Some supervisors expressed frustration that the state took away local control over large-scale farms. Supervisor Kristi Leonard said Green County was one of the first in Wisconsin to have a large-scale farm ordinance, only to have it overturned by the state, which made rules more lax.
Supervisor Harvey Mandel agreed losing local control over where large farms can be sited is a problem. The local ordinance "gave us the ability to say 'no' to things," adding the purpose is not to put anyone out of business. As a long-time supervisor, he said he's gotten more phone calls and emails on this issue than any other, with residents' biggest concern being drinking water safety.
Spreitzer agreed that control should be restored to local government, which knows the landscape and community better. He also advised people remember that agricultural groups often speak for those representing its bigger interests and can portray opposing views as being "anti-farmer." But this isn't the case, he said.
Other concerns were brought up: The state doesn't currently have a maximum number of animals for CAFOs. Additional trucks hauling manure will cause additional damage to roads, which costs the county more money to fix. And many reports indicate the Department of Natural Resources does not have the staff to adequately monitor CAFOs for potential groundwater or other environmental contamination.
For all the concerns, there didn't seem to be much support for CAFOs.
"Are you against CAFOs?" Supervisor Richard Thoman asked the lawmakers.
Each said no, but they did have specific concerns.
"I'm not against them, but we need to look at the cumulative effect," Ringhand said. "We need to think a little smarter ... and look at the environmental impact."
To that point, Supervisor Ted Fahey said there are plenty of other culprits harming the environment. He said he sees cows at small farms wandering in creeks, where their waste is not regulated.
"We spend a lot of time criticizing CAFOs," he said. "Others are equally polluting."
The Green County Board of Supervisors hosted Sen. Janis Ringhand of Evansville, who represents Senate District 15; Rep. Mark Spreitzer of Beloit, who represents Assembly District 45; and Rep. Sondy Pope of Mount Horeb, who represents Assembly District 80, at its meeting Tuesday for a discussion on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs. Each represents a portion of Green County.
Not attending were Rep. Todd Novak of Assembly District 51 and Sen. Howard Marklein of Senate District 17, both Republicans, whose districts include the city of Monroe.
CAFOs, or large-scale farms, have generated intense debate in Green County recently after Pinnacle Dairy proposed building a 5,800-cow dairy on 127 acres on County FF and Decatur-Sylvester Road. Throughout the application process, residents voiced persistent concerns about possible environmental damage from the facility, particularly groundwater contamination from manure generated.
The county Land and Water Conservation Committee voted unanimously to approve the facility earlier this month but added stipulations from Green County Conservationist Todd Jenson to help address concerns.
County board members on Tuesday shared some of their own concerns.
Supervisor Jerry Guth questioned why the application fee for a large-scale farm is only $1,000, when the time needed to investigate prospective CAFOs could generate costs that greatly exceed that.
Jenson said the county spent about $50,000 in staff hours on the Pinnacle application.
Supervisor Jeff Williams, who said he owns with his brother a farm with more than 1,000 cows, agreed that the application fee is too low. He suggested a graduated fee based on animal units, so those intending to build larger farms pay more due to the extra work.
Ringhand and Spreitzer concurred and said the fee could be looked at.
Some supervisors expressed frustration that the state took away local control over large-scale farms. Supervisor Kristi Leonard said Green County was one of the first in Wisconsin to have a large-scale farm ordinance, only to have it overturned by the state, which made rules more lax.
Supervisor Harvey Mandel agreed losing local control over where large farms can be sited is a problem. The local ordinance "gave us the ability to say 'no' to things," adding the purpose is not to put anyone out of business. As a long-time supervisor, he said he's gotten more phone calls and emails on this issue than any other, with residents' biggest concern being drinking water safety.
Spreitzer agreed that control should be restored to local government, which knows the landscape and community better. He also advised people remember that agricultural groups often speak for those representing its bigger interests and can portray opposing views as being "anti-farmer." But this isn't the case, he said.
Other concerns were brought up: The state doesn't currently have a maximum number of animals for CAFOs. Additional trucks hauling manure will cause additional damage to roads, which costs the county more money to fix. And many reports indicate the Department of Natural Resources does not have the staff to adequately monitor CAFOs for potential groundwater or other environmental contamination.
For all the concerns, there didn't seem to be much support for CAFOs.
"Are you against CAFOs?" Supervisor Richard Thoman asked the lawmakers.
Each said no, but they did have specific concerns.
"I'm not against them, but we need to look at the cumulative effect," Ringhand said. "We need to think a little smarter ... and look at the environmental impact."
To that point, Supervisor Ted Fahey said there are plenty of other culprits harming the environment. He said he sees cows at small farms wandering in creeks, where their waste is not regulated.
"We spend a lot of time criticizing CAFOs," he said. "Others are equally polluting."