Venture Dairy Cooperative Testifies Against Harmful Proposed CAFO Operational Ordinance

Venture Dairy Cooperative (VDC), Wisconsin Dairy Alliance (WDA) and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) took a stand against activists Tuesday night in Cushing, Wisconsin, to vehemently oppose a harmful proposed CAFO Ordinance, which if passed, could funnel to local communities throughout Wisconsin.

See VDA, WDA, and WMC's Written Testimony Here.

Before a packed Cushing town hall, Venture Dairy Cooperative’s Executive Director, Kim Bremmer, provided verbal testimony to the town board and expressed her concerns on how if passed, this new ordinance would be detrimental to future growth and expansion of Wisconsin’s flagship dairy industry. The proposed Laketown Draft CAFO Ordinance provides more than 30 pages of google citations and harmful mandated plans that would make it nearly impossible for livestock farms to comply with and significantly devalue appraised property values. Most importantly, the ordinance is unenforceable and illegal because it is preempted by and conflicts with State Livestock Siting Law, is vague, and violates farmers’ due process rights.

The Laketown Board accepted written and verbal comments in regards to the proposed ordinance. Of the comments provided, 14 were in favor and 13 were in opposition to the ordinance. An additional letter was also provided to the town board, signed by 59 local Laketown residents opposed to the ordinance. Testimony in opposition to the ordinance involved passionate local farmers and community members.

“As I’ve talked with local Laketown residents, it appears the support for this proposed ordinance isn’t what always gets portrayed at these meetings. People aren’t as willing to speak up when they see how others get treated by the board and Town committee members, often using intimidation in order to force people to say nothing at all," said Venture Dairy Cooperative Executive Director, Kim Bremmer.

We must stop this proposed ordinance now before it is used as a model throughout the State. Wisconsin CAFO owners are already held to some of the highest standards in the United States. We must ensure towns are not able to assume the role of the regulation by implementing their own regulatory mandates without any requisite authority in law.

“If the goal of this Board is to tell farmers to “get out” if their business plan is to grow and expand, then tell us that is your goal. Be clear about your intention as it relates to agriculture so your farmer-constituents know where you stand. Be straightforward instead of renewing “temporary” moratoria in perpetuity or enacting extreme licensure schemes like this under the guise of improving the environment.”—An excerpt from the written comments provided by Venture Dairy Cooperative, Wisconsin Dairy Alliance, and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.

The next step for this proposed rule is a possible vote later this month. Venture Dairy Cooperative will continue to keep you up to date on developments.