Is Wisconsin doing enough to enforce existing regulations on CAFOs to protect communities and their water? Why are there still so many issues between CAFOs and surrounding towns?
Background/History:
CAFOs, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, are agriculture businesses that mass produce meat, dairy, or eggs, keeping animals in very confined areas. Starting in the mid 1970’s, Wisconsin has grown to have over 300 CAFO facilities across the state. The majority being 90% dairy operations. These farms provide cheap products and open job opportunities. But, workers are usually undocumented or people of color as they are less likely to complain about the low wages and/or working conditions. Instead of letting the animals seek for their own food, it is given by the workers. This causes the animals to live in a mixture of their food and manure/waste in confined areas. These confined areas are usually open air lagoons which are able to hold up to 6 months of manure.
CAFOs are generally protected by the law and other government legislations due to the fact that it brings good economic value to Wisconsin. Because of this, restrictions and regulations are usually loose and other forward progress to improve the environment is difficult. Most CAFOs are found in northern Wisconsin and are the most common of animal farms. All CAFO farms are regulated to have a registered permit to proceed on their operations.
CAFOs generate large quantities of manure, both liquid and solid. Like all farms, CAFOs are not allowed to release manure into streams or lakes and must find another way to dispose of it. According to the DNR, they must be prepared for manure and non-manure spills by developing a response plan. Manure spread on land must be set back from drinking water wells, sinkholes and fractures bedrock. Operators may not spread solid manure on frozen or snow covered ground during February and March. Farmers can stack solid manure in fields or store it in a designed structure. Though, the most common practice, land-spreading, is to spread manure that is liquified with water onto farm fields in the spring and fall. This can help return nutrients in the soil for best crop production. But, if not being done correctly on places that have sufficient depth or soil and plant cover to attenuate the manure, it can seep into groundwater and wash into streams and lakes. This can lead to a number of problems, like polluting small communities drinking water in Wisconsin.
CAFOs lead to major environmental problems. This includes air and water quality issues, methane gas (a greenhouse gas contributing to climate change), and many pathogens and illnesses. Manure runoff into rivers and watersheds nearby leads to nitrate poisoning, causing an average of 20 to 30 serious water quality problems per year. Not only is water polluted, but air quality is also worsened, in which tons of ammonia is released into the atmosphere, causing a higher chance of asthma in children.
CAFOs, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, are agriculture businesses that mass produce meat, dairy, or eggs, keeping animals in very confined areas. Starting in the mid 1970’s, Wisconsin has grown to have over 300 CAFO facilities across the state. The majority being 90% dairy operations. These farms provide cheap products and open job opportunities. But, workers are usually undocumented or people of color as they are less likely to complain about the low wages and/or working conditions. Instead of letting the animals seek for their own food, it is given by the workers. This causes the animals to live in a mixture of their food and manure/waste in confined areas. These confined areas are usually open air lagoons which are able to hold up to 6 months of manure.
CAFOs are generally protected by the law and other government legislations due to the fact that it brings good economic value to Wisconsin. Because of this, restrictions and regulations are usually loose and other forward progress to improve the environment is difficult. Most CAFOs are found in northern Wisconsin and are the most common of animal farms. All CAFO farms are regulated to have a registered permit to proceed on their operations.
CAFOs generate large quantities of manure, both liquid and solid. Like all farms, CAFOs are not allowed to release manure into streams or lakes and must find another way to dispose of it. According to the DNR, they must be prepared for manure and non-manure spills by developing a response plan. Manure spread on land must be set back from drinking water wells, sinkholes and fractures bedrock. Operators may not spread solid manure on frozen or snow covered ground during February and March. Farmers can stack solid manure in fields or store it in a designed structure. Though, the most common practice, land-spreading, is to spread manure that is liquified with water onto farm fields in the spring and fall. This can help return nutrients in the soil for best crop production. But, if not being done correctly on places that have sufficient depth or soil and plant cover to attenuate the manure, it can seep into groundwater and wash into streams and lakes. This can lead to a number of problems, like polluting small communities drinking water in Wisconsin.
CAFOs lead to major environmental problems. This includes air and water quality issues, methane gas (a greenhouse gas contributing to climate change), and many pathogens and illnesses. Manure runoff into rivers and watersheds nearby leads to nitrate poisoning, causing an average of 20 to 30 serious water quality problems per year. Not only is water polluted, but air quality is also worsened, in which tons of ammonia is released into the atmosphere, causing a higher chance of asthma in children.
How the state of Wisconsin regulates CAFOs:
Regardless of size, every Wisconsin farm is responsible for meeting performance standards and prohibitions to prevent polluting groundwater, lakes, or rivers. A Wisconsin animal feeding operation with 1,000 animal units or more is considered a large CAFO and needs a WPDES (Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit (issued by the DNR for five years) in order to operate. One animal unit is defined as a 1,000 lb. measurement of animal weight. For example, 1,000 beef cattle, 715 milking cows or 200,000 chickens are each equivalent to 1,000 AU (animal units).
The DNR states they are currently in the process of the development of a general WPDES permit for CAFOs with fewer than 1,000 AU that fail to manage water quality impacts. To qualify for a permit CAFOs must adhere to siting and engineering standards for the parts of their operation that risk fouling water. There are also inspection, monitoring, and reporting requirements which are included in a CAFO Compliance Calendar.
The DNR makes sure permits comply with regulations and approve them. However, the DNR has been criticized for being too lenient on regulating CAFOs. For instance, the WI DNR has never denied a CAFO application/permit in Wisconsin. The decision has nothing to do with what percentage of a community feels opposed to it. This makes township people often feel stuck with being limited in what they can do. Along with that, the DNR staff turnovers have hindered enforcement efforts in many regions throughout the state.
How towns are managing, and pushback from CAFOs:
Towns located around the farms are putting their own operational rules in place to try and regulate where the state is lacking. For example, six towns unionized, attempting to curb the negative impact on the community the CAFOs have. The town of Trade Lake ordinance focuses on both the environmental and public health concerns. The town brings in a lot of yearly revenue in the tourist district, so they’re worried the dependency on natural beauty will hurt them as CAFOs ruin drinking water, worsen air quality, and bring lots of noise to once quiet towns. Trade Lake created a report outlining the environmental impacts of CAFOs, and its restrictions it was imposing.The Livestock Facility Siting Law makes it difficult for local-level governments to regulate large farms like CAFOs. Laketown’s ordinance was an operational ordinance, preventing pollution from CAFOs, and requiring detailed plans of how they'd manage waste, was sued by Wisconsin Manufacturers & COmmerce, a large business lobbying group in Wisconsin. The Livestock Facility Siting Law makes it difficult for local-level governments to regulate large farms like CAFOs because they aren’t allowed to make regulations that are stricter than the state’s. But locals in Wauzeka are planning meetings and discussions to find ways to prevent their town from being taken advantage of by hog CAFOs. The issue with Wisconsin farming culture is the agricultural industry is increasingly forcing farmers to “get big or get out.” The average salary for a small farm worker is becoming less and less livable, which is why so many farmers sell out and work for CAFOs, which would provide a more liveable wage.
One of the several issues created because of CAFOs is the decrease in value of properties. Properties within three miles from CAFOs can lose up to 26% of their value, while neighboring houses within .25 miles can lose up to 88% of their value. In 2008 there was an estimation that CAFOs around the United States reduced the property value by twenty six billion dollars. Seeing how much CAFOs have escalated through the years, we can conclude that that number is much higher now.
Impact of CAFOs on community: Forest Jahnke
In an interview with Forest Jahnke, a board member for the Crawford Stewardship Project, spoke on the project starting as their community was concerned after a large farm grew to CAFO proportions. The project was founded about 15 years ago by Edie Ehlert. The crawford community was becoming increasingly concerned about the massive amount of liquid manure being produced by the large-scale farms. The liquid manure is not just an issue about odor and cleanliness, but in Crawford County, the landscape is full of steep slopes, sinkholes, spring caves, and cracked bedrock, which allows for quick and damaging spread of manure into local groundwater. Another issue Forest comments on is the ethicality of the CAFOs. In which they are using inhumane homing practices where animals are confined for more than 45 days of a year in a dark, crowded shelter. This coins the controversial topic surrounding whether animals should have rights, like humans. Most activists against CAFOs believe that CAFOs deny the intrinsic value of an animal when they use them solely for industrial products.
When asked about the current status of CAFOs in his area, he told us about a new CAFO approved by the DNR, Roth Feeder Pig II. Like any community would be when property values lower, air and water quality worsen, and family farms start to sink, they were worried. When proposed to the DNR it faced large opposition from local communities, twice the size and only four miles from Roth Feeder Pig Inc, the other CAFO in Wauzeka. The DNR is limited in its powers in restricting CAFO operations, for example, the DNR does not monitor groundwater wells in CAFO towns and counties, and they do not perform check-ins on the large farms, they run on self-reporting systems for environmental incidents. The community wanted the farm to provide verification on the manure spreading system before it was approved, but no such verification was provided by the CAFO or the DNR. Individual community members in Crawford county took it upon themselves to verify the accuracy of their system and the acreage. It was revealed that a third of the acreage planned to be used in manure spreading wasn’t available, which wasn’t mentioned by the CAFO. Too much manure spread on such little acreage creates too much phosphorus in the soil, which can cause crops and plants to die and large algal blooms in water - which are toxic to humans and animals.
Solutions:
Although there is not one straightforward solution for this problem, there are many alternatives so regulations can be more restrictive. Some things we can do to help reduce the expansion of CAFOs is being involved more. For example, getting the neighbors and community together and having meetings to share thoughts or concerns. Being able to have the water tested with the help of the local health department can also help by making sure there are no major pollutants caused by CAFOs. Informing others to bring more spotlight to this issue could get the attention of local officials, state representatives and/or other organizations. Another thing people can do is get in touch with the city commissioners and the drain commissioner. This may not be a solution, but it's a good way to prevent the approval of new CAFOs. Being active in local elections and electing officials who hold values that reflect environmental justice will improve quality of life in each small town.
References Used
Admin, S. C. M. “Home.” Kinnard Farms, https://www.kinnardfarms.com/. Accessed 5 Apr. 2023.
Anderson, Andrea. “Cow Manure Predicted To Cause Most Sickness From Contaminated Wells In Kewaunee County.” Wisconsin Public Radio, 24 June 2021, https://www.wpr.org/cow-manure-predicted-cause-most-sickness-contaminated-wells-kewaunee-county.
CAFO and CAFO WPDES Permit Statistics | | Wisconsin DNR. https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/CAFO/StatsMap.html. Accessed 5 Apr. 2023.
CAFO Permittees - Wisconsin DNR. https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/AgBusiness/data/CAFO/index.asp. Accessed 5 Apr. 2023.
Cushman, Will. “What Does CAFO Oversight Look Like In Wisconsin And Who Pays For It?” WisContext, 13 June 2019, https://www.wiscontext.org/what-does-cafo-oversight-look-wisconsin-and-who-pays-it.
dkruzman. “In Wisconsin, Small Towns Want More Regulations for Big Farms.” Grist, 3 May 2022, https://grist.org/agriculture/wisconsin-factory-farms-cafos-preemption/.
Drinking Water. https://www.crawfordstewardship.org/drinking-water/. Accessed 5 Apr. 2023.
Environment, Missouri Coalition for the. “What Should You Know about CAFOs?” ArcGIS StoryMaps, 25 Oct. 2019, https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/476f09dad5f941518b5c92b091acb91e.
“Environmental Hazards: Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and Public Health.” Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 4 Aug. 2015, https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/environmental/cafo.htm.
Jhanke, Forest. Phone interview. March 31st, 2023.
How to Stop Approval of a New CAFO. https://www.sierraclub.org/michigan/how-stop-approval-new-cafo. Accessed 5 Apr. 2023.
Regardless of size, every Wisconsin farm is responsible for meeting performance standards and prohibitions to prevent polluting groundwater, lakes, or rivers. A Wisconsin animal feeding operation with 1,000 animal units or more is considered a large CAFO and needs a WPDES (Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit (issued by the DNR for five years) in order to operate. One animal unit is defined as a 1,000 lb. measurement of animal weight. For example, 1,000 beef cattle, 715 milking cows or 200,000 chickens are each equivalent to 1,000 AU (animal units).
The DNR states they are currently in the process of the development of a general WPDES permit for CAFOs with fewer than 1,000 AU that fail to manage water quality impacts. To qualify for a permit CAFOs must adhere to siting and engineering standards for the parts of their operation that risk fouling water. There are also inspection, monitoring, and reporting requirements which are included in a CAFO Compliance Calendar.
The DNR makes sure permits comply with regulations and approve them. However, the DNR has been criticized for being too lenient on regulating CAFOs. For instance, the WI DNR has never denied a CAFO application/permit in Wisconsin. The decision has nothing to do with what percentage of a community feels opposed to it. This makes township people often feel stuck with being limited in what they can do. Along with that, the DNR staff turnovers have hindered enforcement efforts in many regions throughout the state.
How towns are managing, and pushback from CAFOs:
Towns located around the farms are putting their own operational rules in place to try and regulate where the state is lacking. For example, six towns unionized, attempting to curb the negative impact on the community the CAFOs have. The town of Trade Lake ordinance focuses on both the environmental and public health concerns. The town brings in a lot of yearly revenue in the tourist district, so they’re worried the dependency on natural beauty will hurt them as CAFOs ruin drinking water, worsen air quality, and bring lots of noise to once quiet towns. Trade Lake created a report outlining the environmental impacts of CAFOs, and its restrictions it was imposing.The Livestock Facility Siting Law makes it difficult for local-level governments to regulate large farms like CAFOs. Laketown’s ordinance was an operational ordinance, preventing pollution from CAFOs, and requiring detailed plans of how they'd manage waste, was sued by Wisconsin Manufacturers & COmmerce, a large business lobbying group in Wisconsin. The Livestock Facility Siting Law makes it difficult for local-level governments to regulate large farms like CAFOs because they aren’t allowed to make regulations that are stricter than the state’s. But locals in Wauzeka are planning meetings and discussions to find ways to prevent their town from being taken advantage of by hog CAFOs. The issue with Wisconsin farming culture is the agricultural industry is increasingly forcing farmers to “get big or get out.” The average salary for a small farm worker is becoming less and less livable, which is why so many farmers sell out and work for CAFOs, which would provide a more liveable wage.
One of the several issues created because of CAFOs is the decrease in value of properties. Properties within three miles from CAFOs can lose up to 26% of their value, while neighboring houses within .25 miles can lose up to 88% of their value. In 2008 there was an estimation that CAFOs around the United States reduced the property value by twenty six billion dollars. Seeing how much CAFOs have escalated through the years, we can conclude that that number is much higher now.
Impact of CAFOs on community: Forest Jahnke
In an interview with Forest Jahnke, a board member for the Crawford Stewardship Project, spoke on the project starting as their community was concerned after a large farm grew to CAFO proportions. The project was founded about 15 years ago by Edie Ehlert. The crawford community was becoming increasingly concerned about the massive amount of liquid manure being produced by the large-scale farms. The liquid manure is not just an issue about odor and cleanliness, but in Crawford County, the landscape is full of steep slopes, sinkholes, spring caves, and cracked bedrock, which allows for quick and damaging spread of manure into local groundwater. Another issue Forest comments on is the ethicality of the CAFOs. In which they are using inhumane homing practices where animals are confined for more than 45 days of a year in a dark, crowded shelter. This coins the controversial topic surrounding whether animals should have rights, like humans. Most activists against CAFOs believe that CAFOs deny the intrinsic value of an animal when they use them solely for industrial products.
When asked about the current status of CAFOs in his area, he told us about a new CAFO approved by the DNR, Roth Feeder Pig II. Like any community would be when property values lower, air and water quality worsen, and family farms start to sink, they were worried. When proposed to the DNR it faced large opposition from local communities, twice the size and only four miles from Roth Feeder Pig Inc, the other CAFO in Wauzeka. The DNR is limited in its powers in restricting CAFO operations, for example, the DNR does not monitor groundwater wells in CAFO towns and counties, and they do not perform check-ins on the large farms, they run on self-reporting systems for environmental incidents. The community wanted the farm to provide verification on the manure spreading system before it was approved, but no such verification was provided by the CAFO or the DNR. Individual community members in Crawford county took it upon themselves to verify the accuracy of their system and the acreage. It was revealed that a third of the acreage planned to be used in manure spreading wasn’t available, which wasn’t mentioned by the CAFO. Too much manure spread on such little acreage creates too much phosphorus in the soil, which can cause crops and plants to die and large algal blooms in water - which are toxic to humans and animals.
Solutions:
Although there is not one straightforward solution for this problem, there are many alternatives so regulations can be more restrictive. Some things we can do to help reduce the expansion of CAFOs is being involved more. For example, getting the neighbors and community together and having meetings to share thoughts or concerns. Being able to have the water tested with the help of the local health department can also help by making sure there are no major pollutants caused by CAFOs. Informing others to bring more spotlight to this issue could get the attention of local officials, state representatives and/or other organizations. Another thing people can do is get in touch with the city commissioners and the drain commissioner. This may not be a solution, but it's a good way to prevent the approval of new CAFOs. Being active in local elections and electing officials who hold values that reflect environmental justice will improve quality of life in each small town.
References Used
Admin, S. C. M. “Home.” Kinnard Farms, https://www.kinnardfarms.com/. Accessed 5 Apr. 2023.
Anderson, Andrea. “Cow Manure Predicted To Cause Most Sickness From Contaminated Wells In Kewaunee County.” Wisconsin Public Radio, 24 June 2021, https://www.wpr.org/cow-manure-predicted-cause-most-sickness-contaminated-wells-kewaunee-county.
CAFO and CAFO WPDES Permit Statistics | | Wisconsin DNR. https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/CAFO/StatsMap.html. Accessed 5 Apr. 2023.
CAFO Permittees - Wisconsin DNR. https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/AgBusiness/data/CAFO/index.asp. Accessed 5 Apr. 2023.
Cushman, Will. “What Does CAFO Oversight Look Like In Wisconsin And Who Pays For It?” WisContext, 13 June 2019, https://www.wiscontext.org/what-does-cafo-oversight-look-wisconsin-and-who-pays-it.
dkruzman. “In Wisconsin, Small Towns Want More Regulations for Big Farms.” Grist, 3 May 2022, https://grist.org/agriculture/wisconsin-factory-farms-cafos-preemption/.
Drinking Water. https://www.crawfordstewardship.org/drinking-water/. Accessed 5 Apr. 2023.
Environment, Missouri Coalition for the. “What Should You Know about CAFOs?” ArcGIS StoryMaps, 25 Oct. 2019, https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/476f09dad5f941518b5c92b091acb91e.
“Environmental Hazards: Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and Public Health.” Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 4 Aug. 2015, https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/environmental/cafo.htm.
Jhanke, Forest. Phone interview. March 31st, 2023.
How to Stop Approval of a New CAFO. https://www.sierraclub.org/michigan/how-stop-approval-new-cafo. Accessed 5 Apr. 2023.