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Posted March 18, 2006
Debate on huge dairies heats up
Second megafarm headed to Calumet
By Dan Wilson
Post-Crescent staff writer
TOWN OF CHILTON — Plans are moving ahead for a dairy megafarm in Calumet County that expects to be up and running by fall.
The operation will be the second megafarm in the county, and the same man, Kenn Buelow of Holsum Elm Dairy, owns both.
The
100-acre site is in the Town of Chilton, just south of the intersection
of Faro Springs Road and Elm Road. Buelow says the operation will use
state-of-the-art technologies to help make it environmentally friendly.
A
grass-roots organization, Calumet County Advocates, has formed to
combat the proliferation of large-scale dairy facilities similar to
Holsum Elm.
Ric Van Sistine, a spokesman for the group, lives about a mile from the new site.
Van
Sistine said that even with all the environmental controls, the size of
the operations alone poses the threat of an environmental disaster.
"We
are talking about 55 million gallons of liquid manure sitting in one
location," he said. "It is a very poor use of the limited amount of
crop land and water."
On
March 2, the state Department of Natural Resources issued a notice of
intent to issue a permit to handle waste from the farm — the only
hurdle left before construction can begin.
"We
are going above and beyond the regulations on environmental policies,"
said Buelow, a veterinarian who hopes to have 3,400 cows at the farm by
the end of the year.
Buelow says he has adopted technologies to control the waste produced at his Rantoul facility, which has 3,700 cows.
An anaerobic digester is used to turn manure into electricity with the remaining solid byproducts used for animal bedding.
"In the winter months we generate about four times the electricity we need and in the summer months about two times," Buelow.
Buelow's
facility recently was named by the DNR as a candidate for its "Green
Tier" program because of its environmental practices.
The construction comes at a time when the debate on the future of large-scale farming operations is heating up.
The
Legislature recently passed new rules governing the siting of
mega-farms, creating statewide standards. The new rules streamline the
permit process provided that the facilities conform to certain
requirements for odor and manure control.
The legislation also allows a large operation to expand by 20 percent without seeking a new permit.
The
legislation has the effect of limiting local units of government's
ability to use the zoning codes against the large operations.
"If
you have local zoning rules than you have to adopt the state rules,"
said Ken Pabich, director of planning and zoning for Calumet County.
"And between now and Nov. 1 Calumet County's rules have to be amended."
Does that take away the county's ability to regulate mega-farms?
"That depends on who you talk to," Pabich said. "However, it does standardize the regulations across the state."
Van Sistine said the state has taken away the local control of the towns.
"They
are telling the local municipalities that these facilities will be
allowed to be sited," he said. "As a state we are embracing and
encouraging this new model of industrial agriculture."
Dan Wilson can be reached at 920-993-1000, ext. 304, or by e-mail at dwilson@postcrescent.com.
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