From Phil Fransen
Belleville
To the editor:
I grew up on a farm years ago in Lafayette County. Many of us my age also grew up on smaller farms in the Green-Lafayette County area and we identify with Jen and Bryce Riemer and their neighbors. Now they have a out of state businessman/farmer wanting to fulfill his dream of 20,000 cows. Why does his dream trump those of small farmers that already live there? I drive by a couple of farms in the Belleville-Monticello area and feel sorry for the people with houses near them and can't imagine what almost 6,000 would be like.
Kewaunee County has a very serious problem with CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) farms polluting their wells. In the Town of Lincoln, 50 percent of the private wells are contaminated and 30 percent are contaminated with E. coli bacteria. Google CAFO farms in Kewaunee County to read more. The taxpayers, federal and state have given these farms $14,417,910 in subsidies and incentives and the farms still don't seem to care what happens to the environment.
I attended some meetings on water quality and learned that if your well is polluted from manure or sucked dry from high capacity wells, that is your problem.
If you think that is not your problem, where do you think the manure will be spread or sprayed in the air? The answer is almost anywhere they want.
Can't you imagine one of the farms west of where you live? The townships need to watch Sylvester Township and follow their lead. I don't want Green County to be the new Kewaunee County.
Legislation has been introduced and is being rushed into law to increase spending for political races leading to more untraceable dark money, destroy the GAB, and exempt politicians and elected officials from secret John Doe investigations which would give mega farms more power.
The citizens of Wisconsin have taken for granted having unlimited supplies of clean water protected by some of the top water scientist' in the world but the budget cuts and staff cuts to our Department of Natural Resources have weakened protection to homeowners.
So can you spend five minutes on something really important such as where Green County is headed and put aside NASCAR, the Badgers, the Cubs, and the Packers and focus on something really important?
Belleville
To the editor:
I grew up on a farm years ago in Lafayette County. Many of us my age also grew up on smaller farms in the Green-Lafayette County area and we identify with Jen and Bryce Riemer and their neighbors. Now they have a out of state businessman/farmer wanting to fulfill his dream of 20,000 cows. Why does his dream trump those of small farmers that already live there? I drive by a couple of farms in the Belleville-Monticello area and feel sorry for the people with houses near them and can't imagine what almost 6,000 would be like.
Kewaunee County has a very serious problem with CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) farms polluting their wells. In the Town of Lincoln, 50 percent of the private wells are contaminated and 30 percent are contaminated with E. coli bacteria. Google CAFO farms in Kewaunee County to read more. The taxpayers, federal and state have given these farms $14,417,910 in subsidies and incentives and the farms still don't seem to care what happens to the environment.
I attended some meetings on water quality and learned that if your well is polluted from manure or sucked dry from high capacity wells, that is your problem.
If you think that is not your problem, where do you think the manure will be spread or sprayed in the air? The answer is almost anywhere they want.
Can't you imagine one of the farms west of where you live? The townships need to watch Sylvester Township and follow their lead. I don't want Green County to be the new Kewaunee County.
Legislation has been introduced and is being rushed into law to increase spending for political races leading to more untraceable dark money, destroy the GAB, and exempt politicians and elected officials from secret John Doe investigations which would give mega farms more power.
The citizens of Wisconsin have taken for granted having unlimited supplies of clean water protected by some of the top water scientist' in the world but the budget cuts and staff cuts to our Department of Natural Resources have weakened protection to homeowners.
So can you spend five minutes on something really important such as where Green County is headed and put aside NASCAR, the Badgers, the Cubs, and the Packers and focus on something really important?
