{"id":1059,"date":"2014-01-06T18:09:13","date_gmt":"2014-01-07T00:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/?p=1059"},"modified":"2014-01-07T09:07:57","modified_gmt":"2014-01-07T15:07:57","slug":"tipping-the-sacred-cow-report-calls-out-big-money-agribusiness-interests-pushes-for-cafo-moratorium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/?p=1059","title":{"rendered":"Tipping the \u2018sacred cow\u2019: Report calls out big-money agribusiness interests, pushes for CAFO moratorium"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"cafo.php\"<\/a>By: Danielle Endvick, Country Today, 12\/9\/2013<\/p>\n

A report recently released by the Wisconsin Environment Research and Policy Center, a statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy group, links more large dairy operations in Wisconsin and the weakening of the state\u2019s clean water standards with big-money agribusiness interests.<\/p>\n

Katie Siegner, Wisconsin Environment clean water associate, said the report, \u201cThe Power to Pollute,\u201d aims to unearth agribusiness\u2019 political influence in Madison and the impact it has on Wisconsin waterways.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPeople don\u2019t realize how much money \u2014 millions and millions of dollars \u2014 these big agribusiness groups like the Dairy Business Association and the Farm Bureau are spending to lobby the state government in Wisconsin and to make sure the state Legislature and state agencies like the Department of Natural Resources and Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection are passing policies that are friendly to big agribusiness and these factory farms,\u201d Siegner said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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According to the report, agribusinesses and related organizations spent more than $4.4 million lobbying the Wisconsin government in the past five years. Lobbying expenditures included almost $200,000 spent by Kraft Foods, more than $800,000 by the Dairy Business Association and more than $1 million by Koch Companies Public Sector (a subsidiary of Koch Industries, a multibillion dollar corporation that sells products and services to large agricultural operations through its other subsidiaries).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The report also notes that since the DNR took charge of overseeing new and expanding dairy farms, the agency has never turned down a permit request nor revoked a permit following pollution standards violations. The DNR issued three violation notices for concentrated animal feeding operations\u2019 animal waste in 2012 \u2014 down from 13 in 2011 and 15 in 2010.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Meanwhile, the number of permitted CAFOs has grown from just one in Wisconsin in 1992 to 92 in 2002 and 237 in 2012. CAFOs are defined by<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as \u201cagricultural operations where animals are kept and raised in confined<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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situations. CAFOs con-gregate animals, feed, manure and urine, dead animals, and production operations on a small land area.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Feed is brought to the animals rather than the animals grazing or otherwise seeking feed in pastures, fields, or on rangeland.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve found that in the counties with the highest concentration of CAFOs \u2014 Kewaunee and Brown counties \u2014 a lot of that water pollution can be traced directly to the CAFOs,\u201d Siegner said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The report recommends a moratorium on CAFO permits until further research on their impact can be conducted. In addition, it suggests DATCP more strictly limit water pollution by better regulating high-capacity well systems; banning aerial manure application and over-application of fertilizers; tightening rules for inspection; punishing repeat or serious offenders; and creating a citizen monitoring system through which citizens can report potential violations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Laurie Fischer, executive director of the DBA, which was among agribusiness groups targeted in the report, said any potential moratorium on CAFO permits would threaten the dairy industry in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cA moratorium on CAFOs would result in dairy processing infrastructure dollars leaving the state \u2026 since we are already a milk-deficit state, meaning we import milk to meet the demands of our dairy processing industry,\u201d Fischer wrote in an email to The Country Today. \u201cThat affects the jobs of cheesemakers, milk haulers, electricians, equipment suppliers and everyone associated with the industry. So a dangerous and irresponsible idea like a \u2018CAFO moratorium\u2019 would have far-reaching consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Political sway<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jim Goodman, who milks 45 cows on his certified organic dairy, Northwood Farm, near Wonewoc and also serves as a board member for Family Farm Defenders, said he would support a CAFO moratorium. Goodman was among panelists who discussed the report in a Dec. 4 teleconference.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI think before they allow any more CAFOs, they need to see what really is happening with groundwater contamination,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Goodman said he views CAFOs as both a cause and result of the consolidation that can be seen in agriculture today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cEverything is getting bigger \u2014 the amount of land, machinery,\u201d he said. \u201cAs the profit margin drops, the only way to stay in business is economies of scale. There are advantages to size. Throw on top of that the DNR isn\u2019t enforcing regulations on big farms.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He noted agribusinesses driving the industry want to continue the \u201cbigger is better\u201d trend.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone can argue about the sway of political dollars,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s money to be made selling things to farmers. The larger they can push farms to be, the more mechanized, the more money there is to be made.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Goodman said the justification for industrial agriculture is a misguided notion that it\u2019s done to feed the people of the world, when in reality, much of it feeds animals \u2014 which also feed people \u2014 and ethanol plants.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cCAFOs have spread because this model is profitable \u2014 not necessarily for the farmer or the community but for the grain companies and processors that have basically told farmers how we must farm,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Lynn Utesch, grass-fed beef farmer and executive board member for Kewaunee CARES, a group advocating for responsible environmental stewardship, said living in Kewaunee County, which has one of the highest concentrations of dairy CAFOs in the state, has given him a firsthand look at the clout agribusiness has and its ability to degrade the environment and communities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhen the largest CAFOs have direct access to our policymakers, including the secretary of the DNR, who the citizens and small farmers do not have access to, their desires are addressed much faster,\u201d Utesch said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Though CAFOs are highly regulated, those regulations are minimally enforced, Utesch said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In Kewaunee County, more than 75 percent of the farmland is enrolled in nutrient-management plans.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThese plans are supposed to be the gold standard to keep groundwater pollution from happening,\u201d Utesch said. \u201cWhy then are our groundwaters deteriorating? Why are there no fish in our rivers and streams?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Long-standing history<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The DBA\u2019s Fischer said her organization is not seeking to change Wisconsin\u2019s long-established history of groundwater and environmental protection.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cEvery Wisconsin farmer is concerned about our water resources and relies on access to groundwater for their cattle to survive,\u201d Fischer said. \u201cDairy farms\u2019 wells keep our critical dairy industry producing milk for fluid and cheese production across Wisconsin and the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Fischer said dairy farmers have received less than 10 percent of all high-capacity well approvals issued by the DNR since 2007.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe DNR will continue to retain the authority to deny or impose conditions on wells that may impact other resources, and citizens retain all of their rights to pursue claims against well owners that may have affected their property values,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Fischer said DBA supports Senate Bill 302, which would clarify for farmers the regulatory process when seeking approval for high-capacity wells by providing a clear understanding of requirements of farmers when they apply for permits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A long reach<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Scott Dye, associate with the Socially Responsible Agricultural Project, gained an up-close education on CAFOs when an 80,000-head hog finishing operation was built next to his family farm in Missouri in 1994.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The problem with CAFOs is that they are self-policing, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThese CAFOs are supposed to be inspected once in a five-year period,\u201d he said, \u201cbut it\u2019s mostly complaint-driven.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Dye said he has traveled around the U.S. sharing the story of what happened in his family, community and state with the fervent hope that it doesn\u2019t happen to anyone else.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe way I see it, this is really a battle for the heart and soul of rural America and what it\u2019s going to look like,\u201d Dye said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What makes Wisconsin\u2019s situation worrisome is the shallow bedrock of the Central Sands region and fractured bedrock in the northeast portion of the state, where many CAFOs can be found.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhen you\u2019re aerially applying waste on that type of fragile topography, you\u2019re creating serious concerns about drinking water,\u201d Dye said, adding more research needs to be done to fully understand how much phosphorus and nitrogen the land can absorb.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cBecause of agribusiness\u2019 influence, the state\u2019s regulatory agencies do little to monitor factory farms, while runoff continues to pour into the state\u2019s waterways, wetlands and drinking water wells,\u201d Dye said. \u201cWithout common-sense enforcement, the current unbridled pace of expansion of the state\u2019s mega-dairies is a recipe for environmental disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At a recent rural health forum in Sturgeon Bay, Gordon Stevenson, former chief runoff management for the DNR, said there are about 100 CAFO pollution elimination discharge permit applications in progress at the DNR, and staff had been urged to process them quickly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The sacred cow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Dye said he has seen Wisconsin residents struggle with the issue of CAFOs, in part because of the state\u2019s rich dairy history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWisconsin is a state where agriculture is the sacred cow, literally \u2026 \u201d he said. \u201cI think there\u2019s always been a deference to the dairy industry as being a noble profession, something the state has always been proud of. But I\u2019ve been to a lot of these big dairies \u2014 it\u2019s nowhere near the experience of living next to a traditional farming operation. These are not your grandfather\u2019s farm.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rather than a natural evolution of the industry, the emergence of mega-dairies is a political move by a select few, Dye said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Goodman said he believes citizens, everyday consumers, will be the ones to put pressure on regulatory agencies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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An improved milk pricing system in the next farm bill would take pressure off farmers to expand too, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s a lot easier for a farmer to make good environmental decisions, good business decisions, good family decisions, if he\u2019s getting paid a fair price,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryone now is fighting to stay in business \u2026 . Farmers aren\u2019t bad people. Most want to protect the environment. If they were paid at a point where they didn\u2019t have to milk so many cattle or raise so many pigs, they\u2019d have a good chance to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Fischer agreed that money is a leading factor contributing to the increasing number of farmers turning to CAFOs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cPrices have failed to keep up with inflation, producers have had to make difficult decisions \u2026 . They could choose to live on less money year after year, find a niche market that pays higher market prices, add more cows or leave the dairy business,\u201d Fischer said. \u201cFarmers have made all of these choices depending on their individual circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Danielle Endvick, Country Today, 12\/9\/2013 A report recently released by the Wisconsin Environment Research and Policy Center, a statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy group, links more large dairy operations in Wisconsin and the weakening of the state\u2019s clean water standards … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-factoryfarms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1059"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1062,"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions\/1062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}