The Lake County Commission has a clear affinity for livestock. Last month they turned down Lee Yager’s application to expand his gravel pit east of town for fear that his dust and noise would upset a neighbor’s sensitive racehorses. Last week they approved Benjamin Elliott’s expansion of his confined animal feeding operation east of town despite the concerns of neighbors:
Commissioner Deb Reinicke reminded those who opposed the operation in Lakeview Township that “neighbors don’t have a lot to say” about conditional use permits. She said that as long as the applicant meets county guidelines, “it’s hard for this board to turn this down.”
The contested application was submitted by Benjamin Elliott and involves an open lot CAFO with up to 499 head of feeder/slaughter cattle. Currently, an estimated 49 head are kept on the site, which is located three miles east of Madison on 233 Street.
…Planning and Zoning Officer Mandi Anderson said the CAFO conformed to the Lake County Zoning Ordinance for a Class E CAFO. She said there were no concerns about pollution, and the open lot would meet minimum setback and separation distances.
In addition, neither County Highway Superintendent Dave Fedeler nor Kingbrook Rural Water had objections. However, neighbors Don Wiken and Neil Vonkeman did have objections.
Wiken expressed concerns about the odor, flies and loss of property values. He noted that while no families lived within a quarter mile, one lived just over a quarter mile from the proposed operation, five lived within half mile, and nine lived within one mile [Mary Gales Askren, “County Commissioners Approve CAFO in Lakeview Township,” Madison Daily Leader, 2019.06.21].
I’m not sure how any county official can look at the public with a straight face and say that a factory feedlot raises “no concerns about pollution”:
Vonkeman said the proposed expansion could affect neighbors with the odor and increased dust as well as when the manure is spread because it “smells terrible.” He also expressed concerns about excess nutrients being spread on the soil.
“A lot of times the land is not tested before they put the manure on,” he indicated, explaining the excess then goes into the waterways.
Vonkeman also expressed health concerns, saying his children and grandchildren could be affected because research shows increased incidences of asthma and respiratory issues near CAFOs. Wiken added that CAFOs don’t benefit the county financially [Askren, 2019.06.21].
On the good side, Commissioner Reinecke did enunciate a zoning principle that should make Lake County the next hotspot for Native American economic development:
Reinicke responded by saying the area is agricultural and farmers were in the area before most other residents [Askren, 2019.06.21].
I encourage my Lakota brothers and sisters to apply now for hemp fields, buffalo pasture, wacipi grounds, casinos, or whatever else they’d like to build in Lake County. The Lake County Commission says if your people were there first, your desires take precedence over anyone else’s!
She said there were no concerns about pollution, and the open lot would meet minimum setback and separation distances.
No concerns about pollution is easy to understand when you wipe your memory of all empirical evidence to the contrary.
Put a cow in your living room and let’s find out how much they don’t pollute, first hand.
Mike, cow in the living room was exactly my thought too. Great minds ……. 🤯
If cows don’t pollute, why did I spend all those days at the operating end of a pitch fork in my formative years? ;-)
I’m kind of a romantic, Loren. I could see you slaving away with a pitchfork to earn enough pesos to paint the town of a Saturday evening. :)
One summer as a fourteen year old hired hand in Waverly, I had to “fork” a calf shed where six calves had spent the winter. The first day the “pollution” was so tall I had to bend at the waist or hit my head on the ceiling. Fill a fork, walk 40 feet to the window and drop it in the spreader. Two good things I learned those three days. First I learned how to back up a two wheel manure spreader behind a John Deere “B”, which was invaluable when I applied to drive an eighteen wheeler and get a Teamster’s job in the big city. Second … I learned how to ride a half wild, bareback stallion because the farm lady wouldn’t let me anywhere near her house, let alone the bathtub. Rode that boy two miles to the lake every night at sunset for a bath and met some real nice farm girl sisters, from the other side of the county. Made those Saturday night wedding dances in Kranzburg memorable.
Maybe just require the owner to live within a quarter mile (preferably downwind).
And again, a zoning board officer is wrong: Boards have the right to refuse a permit: https://dakotarural.wordpress.com/2018/05/03/boards-right-to-say-no-to-cafo-permits-upheld-in-circuit-court/
NBC News has a story on Ag Sec Perdue. Basically he and Wilted Weenie knew they were throwing farmers under the bus with WW’s ego trade war.
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Farmers are ‘casualties’ of Trump’s trade war, agriculture secretary admits
“You can’t pay the bills with patriotism,” Sonny Perdue said.
June 25, 2019, 9:40 AM CDT / Source: Reuters
By Reuters
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue acknowledged that American farmers are “casualties” of President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, according to an interview broadcast on Tuesday.
Perdue told CNN he did not expect a trade deal to be reached when Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping this month at the G-20 summit in Japan but hopes one can be struck by the end of the year.
The Trump administration has designated aid for farmers, a key constituency that helped him win the election in 2016, but they still have been among the hardest hit from the trade dispute with China.
“I think they are one of the casualties with trade disruption, yes,” Perdue told CNN. “We knew going in that when you flew the penalty flag on China, the retaliation, if it came, would be against the farmer.
Stakes are high for G-20 talks with China, but ‘you can only fight so many wars,’ say economists
“I’ve told the president — and the president understands — you can’t pay the bills with patriotism,” Perdue told CNN. “We know that and certainly he knows that. That’s why he’s trying to supplement the damage they’re having from trade disruptions with market facilitation.”
The Trump administration last month unveiled a $16 billion aid package for farmers to offset losses from the 10-month trade war with China. Payment rates to farmers would be determined by where they farm rather than what crops they grow.
The trade dispute, which escalated this month after Washington and Beijing raised tariffs on imports of each other’s goods, has left U.S. farmers sitting on record volumes of soybeans with China halting purchases. China once was a destination for more than 60 percent of U.S. soybean exports.6
Good legal point, Kathy. Our elected officials like to claim their hands are tied when they want to avoid being blamed for picking agribusiness over the broader quality-of-life interests of their constituents.