MAGNOLIA TOWNSHIP - Today, Rock County's biggest dairy farm is pumping out 4.5 million gallons of milk a year.
If the herd doubles as proposed, it also could be pumping out 40 million gallons of manure, according to an environmental assessment released July 20 by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. An informational hearing about the proposal will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, at Evansville High School.
Larson Acres is proposing a $12.8 million expansion that would double its herd to 5,275 animals. Currently the farm raises 2,668 animals on farms at 18218 W. Highway 59, Evansville, and 17162 W. County B, Brodhead.
Both farms are in Magnolia Township in northwestern Rock County.
In its assessment, the DNR states Larson Acres will use the right processes and equipment to safely handle that much manure and that many animals.
Farm spokesman Mike Larson said his family's farm - like all other big dairy operations - is strictly regulated by the state.
"There are stringent standards we've got to follow," Larson said. "We feel we're easily going above and beyond that."
But some neighbors, who already are involved in a legal battle with the farm, think a herd expansion is a bad idea.
Tony Ends is one of those neighbors. He is concerned about what he calls Larson Acres' problematic history.
"We of course do have concerns," Ends said. "And we think that Rock County, the entire population, should be concerned."
current operation
Larson Acres milks 1,300 cows at its main farm on Highway 59.
The farm raises its replacement heifers - immature females - at a second farm on County B.
Larson Acres has 2,668 animals and 4,000 acres. The farm employs 34 people and has an annual payroll of $1.48 million.
The farm spends $7 million in the local economy annually, Larson said.
About 3,500 trucks deliver feed, manure and supplies in and out of the farm annually, according to the DNR's environmental assessment.
For two years, Larson Acres has been one of two trial sites for a company that manufactures wastewater treatment equipment for municipalities and food processors, Larson said.
Larson Acres uses the equipment to treat manure.
The equipment, located on the main farm, removes the solids from waste. What's left is sand that is recycled for bedding, biosolids, high-nutrient liquid waste and low-nutrient "tea water," according to the environmental assessment.
The solid waste and the high-nutrient liquid can be stored for a short time or spread onto a field, Larson said.
The low-nutrient "tea water" can be recycled back into the system or used to water crops.
That greatly reduces the amount of fresh water used on the farm, according to the assessment.
Larson Acres has been using the tea water - so called because of its color - to water crops as part of a trial with the UW-Extension, according to the assessment.
The Extension trial calls for regular testing of the tea water. The farm's nutrient management plan calls for soil sampling and quarterly groundwater sampling.
A nutrient management plan is a professionally designed plan that uses animal waste as fertilizer for crops. The plan also states when and how fertilizer will be spread.
Larson Acres submitted a new nutrient management plan to the DNR in June.
The expansion
Larson Acres proposes adding a cross-ventilated, free-stall barn on the main farm.
The barn would hold 1,800 animals, although only about 1,100 of them would be milking cows.
The cows would be milked in a parlor with two rows of 20 stalls.
Evansville company Varco Pruden would manufacture the buildings, Larson said. The contract is enough to keep the company working for 16 weeks, he said.
The farm would add four nursery barns for the 240 calves that would be born every month.
When they get a little older, half the calves would go to the County B farm for about a year and a half until they were old enough to deliver their first calf.
The number of heifers at County B would not increase, Larson said.
The other half of the calves would grow up on the main farm.
To handle the waste from the proposed bigger herd, the farm would add a second wastewater treatment plant.
They would not need to add liquid manure storage. Two treatment facilities would mean the two current lagoons would be sufficient, Larson said.
Larson hopes to get the necessary DNR permits in August so that ground can be broken in September and foundations poured in October.
He hopes to see construction take place this fall and winter.
The farm already has put a lot of work into the project, Larson said. It's not like 20 years ago, when a farmer just poured concrete and added 20 stanchions onto the end of his barn, Larson said.
"We've been talking and looking and consulting with experts for years on this project," Larson said. "We've invested and talked to people from all over the country about air, water and nutrient management. I'm proud of the team we put together to come up with the project we're proposing."
the neighbors
Ends raises goats and organic vegetables at his farm on Scotch Hill Road, not farm from one of Larson Acres' two animal operations. He is one of the plaintiffs in a 2003 court case against Larson Acres that has gone to a Wisconsin appeals court.
The case has not been resolved.
Ends doesn't think a large, commercial farm is appropriate for rustic Magnolia Township, where only about 800 people contribute to the tax base.
Dealing with such a large operation is an unfair burden, Ends said.
Ends is upset the DNR's environmental assessment states that an environmental impact study is not needed.
The study is another level of investigation compared to the assessment, said Mike Cain, wastewater engineer with the DNR.
Now is especially not the time for an expansion, Ends said. Record-low milk prices can be attributed to a milk surplus, he said.
"We should be slowing this down and considering how we can help all farmers of all sizes farm in a way that's sustainable," Ends said.
If the herd doubles as proposed, it also could be pumping out 40 million gallons of manure, according to an environmental assessment released July 20 by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. An informational hearing about the proposal will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, at Evansville High School.
Larson Acres is proposing a $12.8 million expansion that would double its herd to 5,275 animals. Currently the farm raises 2,668 animals on farms at 18218 W. Highway 59, Evansville, and 17162 W. County B, Brodhead.
Both farms are in Magnolia Township in northwestern Rock County.
In its assessment, the DNR states Larson Acres will use the right processes and equipment to safely handle that much manure and that many animals.
Farm spokesman Mike Larson said his family's farm - like all other big dairy operations - is strictly regulated by the state.
"There are stringent standards we've got to follow," Larson said. "We feel we're easily going above and beyond that."
But some neighbors, who already are involved in a legal battle with the farm, think a herd expansion is a bad idea.
Tony Ends is one of those neighbors. He is concerned about what he calls Larson Acres' problematic history.
"We of course do have concerns," Ends said. "And we think that Rock County, the entire population, should be concerned."
current operation
Larson Acres milks 1,300 cows at its main farm on Highway 59.
The farm raises its replacement heifers - immature females - at a second farm on County B.
Larson Acres has 2,668 animals and 4,000 acres. The farm employs 34 people and has an annual payroll of $1.48 million.
The farm spends $7 million in the local economy annually, Larson said.
About 3,500 trucks deliver feed, manure and supplies in and out of the farm annually, according to the DNR's environmental assessment.
For two years, Larson Acres has been one of two trial sites for a company that manufactures wastewater treatment equipment for municipalities and food processors, Larson said.
Larson Acres uses the equipment to treat manure.
The equipment, located on the main farm, removes the solids from waste. What's left is sand that is recycled for bedding, biosolids, high-nutrient liquid waste and low-nutrient "tea water," according to the environmental assessment.
The solid waste and the high-nutrient liquid can be stored for a short time or spread onto a field, Larson said.
The low-nutrient "tea water" can be recycled back into the system or used to water crops.
That greatly reduces the amount of fresh water used on the farm, according to the assessment.
Larson Acres has been using the tea water - so called because of its color - to water crops as part of a trial with the UW-Extension, according to the assessment.
The Extension trial calls for regular testing of the tea water. The farm's nutrient management plan calls for soil sampling and quarterly groundwater sampling.
A nutrient management plan is a professionally designed plan that uses animal waste as fertilizer for crops. The plan also states when and how fertilizer will be spread.
Larson Acres submitted a new nutrient management plan to the DNR in June.
The expansion
Larson Acres proposes adding a cross-ventilated, free-stall barn on the main farm.
The barn would hold 1,800 animals, although only about 1,100 of them would be milking cows.
The cows would be milked in a parlor with two rows of 20 stalls.
Evansville company Varco Pruden would manufacture the buildings, Larson said. The contract is enough to keep the company working for 16 weeks, he said.
The farm would add four nursery barns for the 240 calves that would be born every month.
When they get a little older, half the calves would go to the County B farm for about a year and a half until they were old enough to deliver their first calf.
The number of heifers at County B would not increase, Larson said.
The other half of the calves would grow up on the main farm.
To handle the waste from the proposed bigger herd, the farm would add a second wastewater treatment plant.
They would not need to add liquid manure storage. Two treatment facilities would mean the two current lagoons would be sufficient, Larson said.
Larson hopes to get the necessary DNR permits in August so that ground can be broken in September and foundations poured in October.
He hopes to see construction take place this fall and winter.
The farm already has put a lot of work into the project, Larson said. It's not like 20 years ago, when a farmer just poured concrete and added 20 stanchions onto the end of his barn, Larson said.
"We've been talking and looking and consulting with experts for years on this project," Larson said. "We've invested and talked to people from all over the country about air, water and nutrient management. I'm proud of the team we put together to come up with the project we're proposing."
the neighbors
Ends raises goats and organic vegetables at his farm on Scotch Hill Road, not farm from one of Larson Acres' two animal operations. He is one of the plaintiffs in a 2003 court case against Larson Acres that has gone to a Wisconsin appeals court.
The case has not been resolved.
Ends doesn't think a large, commercial farm is appropriate for rustic Magnolia Township, where only about 800 people contribute to the tax base.
Dealing with such a large operation is an unfair burden, Ends said.
Ends is upset the DNR's environmental assessment states that an environmental impact study is not needed.
The study is another level of investigation compared to the assessment, said Mike Cain, wastewater engineer with the DNR.
Now is especially not the time for an expansion, Ends said. Record-low milk prices can be attributed to a milk surplus, he said.
"We should be slowing this down and considering how we can help all farmers of all sizes farm in a way that's sustainable," Ends said.