DNR sets public hearing on proposal for Pierce Co. CAFO

Wisconsin dairy CAFO (Photo courtesy of Wisconsin DNR)

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has scheduled a public hearing on a proposal from Appleton-based Breeze Dairy Group to expand its operation in Pierce County’s town of Salem to 6,500 animals.

Since the proposed expansion was made public, local residents have raised concerns about how the farm plans to manage an estimated 80.7 million gallons of untreated liquid manure and wastewater every year.

Locals say that in the nutrient management plan Breeze Dairy filed with the DNR outlining how it will handle the manure, the company listed the properties of several landowners as places where manure will be spread, however those landowners say they were never contacted by the company. In a news release from GrassRoots Organizing Western Wisconsin (GROWW), opponents to the expansion say the flaws in the management plan threaten local water quality.

“People around these expanding livestock operations deserve to know that their properties and families won’t be impacted by more and more untreated waste,” Danny Akenson, a Field Organizer with GROWW working with the residents around the town of Salem. “Right now, Ridge Breeze isn’t meeting the minimum requirement for acreage to responsibly spread the liquid waste, and locals are worried. As it stands, Ridge Breeze either lied or made some serious mistakes on their application..”

Breeze Dairy Group also recently purchased a troubled dairy operation in the town of Emerald in St. Croix County, raising further concerns about water quality there.

The virtual public hearing on the Salem dairy’s expansion is set for July 11 at 4 p.m.

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