DNR approves expansion of dairy farm to 4,000 head
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has approved plans to let a dairy farm move forward with a controversial expansion that could lead to it becoming the largest in the state.
Rosendale Dairy will be allowed to expand from nearly 700 cows to 4,000 cows in the Town of Rosendale in western Fond du Lac County.
A second phase of the farm could double the size of the herd to 8,000 cows.
The DNR approved the farm's request for a wastewater permit late Friday afternoon. Representatives of Rosendale issued a news release Monday saying it received the permit.
In the first phase, cattle from the farm will produce 46 million gallons of liquid waste, most of it manure, each year.
The DNR is requiring Rosendale to take additional steps because of the large amounts of manure it plans to spread on local farm fields. They include:
Monitoring wells must be drilled near manure storage facilities and other sites; water will have to be tested for the presence of manure near drain tiles; and manure spreading will be restricted to no closer than 200 feet from a private well.
Second phase separate
At this point, Rosendale will have to come back to the DNR for permission to expand the herd above 4,000 cows.
Jim Ostrom, one of the owners of the dairy, said he was generally pleased by the decision but was reviewing details of the added requirements.
"We are beginning the process of daily performance where we need to prove to our opponents that we can operate in an environmentally sound manner," Ostrom said.
Rosendale's expansion has angered some local residents and officials who are fearful that manure from the farm will harm the groundwater.
Opponents also raised concerns about the odor and increased traffic congestion from trucks and farm machinery moving in and out of the farm.
Peter McKeever, an attorney for opponents of the farm, said he was disappointed, and that the decision underscored a growing trend in which the DNR appears to favor private interests over public interests.
McKeever said he was still reviewing the specifics of the permit and had not decided whether opponents might challenge it.
DNR officials have said the permit for Rosendale has been the most heavily scrutinized in the agency's history.
The entire expansion is expected to cost $70 million.
Rosendale said that each year it will spend $32 million on local contractors and vendors.
