Last night I was at another public hearing in the Town of Trenton, located in Washington County, WI.
This was different than the others I’ve attended on the same issue: the permit and zoning changes for a local CAFO that’s been overstocking its animals for years.
It was different because they used multiple tactics to prevent people from speaking.
First, they required everyone to submit their statement 3 hours beforehand. Never seen that before. But I did it.
Second, they limited speaking time to people with an address within the bounds of Trenton. Never mind the fact that the pollution from this farm will not be limited to those boundaries. Our farm is 7 minutes away from their massive manure holding tank. The Cedarburg Bog, the largest intact bog in Wisconsin, is even closer than that.
Since I wasn’t allowed to speak, I’ll go ahead and share my statement here. And for anyone looking for something to do, some action to take that will have an actual impact, look into your local politics. Find out what’s going on and who’s who, and show up to these things. They won’t be promoting it. They want things like this to stay quiet. But this is where your voice hits the hardest. It takes time to learn, and that process is ongoing. Each issue requires research and each approach needs to match the situation at hand.
However, we’re not just speaking up anymore. We have an open challenge to the DNR to revoke the permit. We are engaged in the legal process and we have a strong case. That took years of showing up, speaking to reporters, and advocating. They knew who I was as soon as I walked up to the podium, when they asked me to sit down.
Here’s what didn’t get heard at the public hearing:
This is not just about clean drinking water. It’s not just about zoning, or property values, or the Milwaukee river, or the Cedarburg Bog. It is, but what it’s really about is us. The future of the people who belong to this area, the communities rooted here, including the 300 families my farm serves each week throughout the summer and fall. Including children growing up here, like my son, whose daycare’s well has been contaminated this past year, and which is located nearby this CAFO.
When we packed the public hearings a few years ago with over 100 local people in opposition to the expansion of Rob-N-Cin Farms, you tabled the vote. They went ahead anyway, but perhaps you were hoping we’d forget or give up.
We haven’t. We’ve just gotten more organized, and more educated. We’ve seen what other communities throughout the Midwest have done and suffered through over this very issue. It’s everyone’s right to be protected by laws and regulations put in place to protect us. Relying on loopholes to grant permits and zoning changes while Mr. Roden sits on the planning committee himself is not honoring that. The rules are there for good reasons. Blue baby syndrome is a thing. Millions of dollars in funds raised and decades of volunteer labor to preserve the Milwaukee River and the Cedarburg Bog matter.
We are not asking for, not have the power to stop anyone from farming. That’s not the goal. These megafarms are family owned, yes, but the profits go to billion-dollar corporations that move their product. Those corporations are very keen on undermining local governments and ordinances to benefit themselves. That’s who we are really up against, not individuals or families who become their fall guys.
We are not asking for anything other than integrity and compliance with the law. Please revoke this permit, and require an environmental assessment as well as ongoing, adequate water testing. Many farmers, including my own, have no problem with doing this. It’s reassuring to hear large-scale dairy farmers say that they care about the water and the land. But we don’t want to hear it. We want to see it.
Thank you.
For resources on defending land and drinking water from CAFOs, please check out this awesome series, available on youtube or wherever you get your podcasts:
HOW TO FIGHT A FACTORY FARM by the Institute for Ag & Trade Policy
Also get in touch with Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Friends of Trenton, and Midwest Environmental Advocates for more on-the-ground work to protect Wisconsin’s natural resources.
Some reporting on this specific case:
Environmental Groups File Legal Action: WI Examiner
After years without a a permit, WI dairy CAFO faces legal challenge: WPR.org
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