This is a letter I have submitted to the Wisconsin Trout magazine.  I am concerned about the effect CAFOs are going to have on Wisconsin's agriculture, culture, plus its cold water resources.  I am interested in your thoughts on this.

It’s all about the manure!

I am alarmed and concerned about the increasing number of CAFOs(confined animal feeding operations) in Wisconsin.  As I write this, there are 185 CAFOs in the State with 50 more applying for permits.  Our existing laws make these permits easy to acquire.  Northeast Wisconsin, where I live, has a large number of CAFOs and there already have been two major spills---with fish loss.  But, they are not the major culprit when it comes to manure spills and kills---more later.

The big problem is that CAFOs produce tremendous volumes of animal wastes that have to be disposed of.  I know that CAFOs have more stringent regulations than smaller farms, but I worry about the shear volume of animal wastes that they are spraying and spreading on our agricultural lands.  Many people feel that the way CAFOs currently handle manure will eventually lead to the contamination of drinking water, ground water, and surface water.  They need a better answer than spraying and spreading.   Anaerobic digesters that produce methane may be the answer, but so far there are only 17 operating in Wisconsin.

The DNR recently okayed a permit for the $100,000,000 Rosendale Dairy to spread 92,000,000 gallons of liquid manure on Fond du Lac County farmlands per year.  This is equal in volume to what the city of Green Bay produces---the third largest sewage district in Wisconsin.  Now, human wastes and animal wastes are two different things and they certainly have different effects on the environment.  I use this comparison to illustrate the volume that this one CAFO creates.  

The Rosendale Dairy permit was granted in spite of the fact that the soils in that region are thin, with porous rock underneath.    These lands are drained by streams that empty into Green Lake, Rush Lake,  and Lake Winnebago.  There is also a trout stream that is in this area.  Nearby citizens and communities were opposed to it.  The city of Ripon opposed the CAFO and fears it will contaminate its drinking water.  In my mind, the DNR, and the Rosendale Dairy have not proved that the dairy will not pollute.

A dispassionate and impotent DNR, which has been battered and minimized by politicians and big money interests, says, “We have written the WPDES (Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit (for Rosendale Dairy) to the best of our ability within our existing legal framework to ensure that the project will avoid and minimize adverse environmental water quality impacts.”  (Does the word minimize bother you?)

Is the DNR suggesting that Wisconsin laws are not adequate in protecting our natural resources from exploitation and degradation?  I believe they are inadequate.  Many others do too.

CAFOs are a current and future threat, but some of the 13,000 plus smaller farms are the immediate problem.  This past February saw many farmers all over Wisconsin spreading manure on frozen and snow covered fields.  In mid-February we had a 65 degree day and much of that manure ran off into our waterways.  Not all farmers are irresponsible, but enough are to cause problems.  The large majority of farmers are exemplary stewards of the land.

I am not against farmers finding new technologies and processes to make the food that we all consume.  I am not against them making a profit.  I hope they do!  But, they should prove that they are not doing this to the detriment of our environment---before they start.

The Rosendale Dairy was so confident that they would get all 23 DNR required permits that they started construction before permits were granted.  How did they know they would get all the permits?  After all, they were gambling $100,000,000, or were they?  Did someone tell them it was a slam-dunk?

As an organization that pledges to protect and preserve our cold water resources, Trout Unlimited should be actively promoting legislation that will do that.  I know many people have worked hard and long to do this in the past, but we need to renew and increase our efforts.

Thanks for taking time to read my letter---what do you think Wisconsin TU should do to help solve this problem?  

John Gremmer

jgremmer@charter.net