Corporate Farming Notes—Permit Granted for Mega-Dairy Despite Intense Local Opposition
In Jo Daviess County, Illinois, a particularly disconcerting brand of corporate farming is coming to town. Perhaps I am biased because I know so many dairy farmers in northeast Iowa, southwest Wisconsin, and northwest Illinois, but I find the location of an 11,000 head (or more) mega-dairy so close to the heart of family farm dairy country is the epitome of adding insult to injury.
A.J. Bos, the Bakersfield, California, dairy magnate with a dairy empire of over 50,000 cows in multiple states, is seeking to build two industrial dairy sites with at least 5,500 cows and heifers. Illinois law would allow him to double the number of cows at each site within two years, with no additional supervision, if the cost of the expansion is less than 50 percent of the initial cost of construction.
Despite stiff opposition from local residents, and an 11 to five vote earlier this year by the Jo Daviess County Board recommending that the Illinois Department of Agriculture deny the mega-dairy construction permit, Bos was able to convince the department to grant a construction permit for the site.
Members of Helping Others Maintain Environmental Standards, a grassroots organization that sprung up in Nora, Illinois (population 200) and surrounding communities in opposition to the Bos mega-dairies, have filed for an injunction against the construction arguing that the Illinois Department of Agriculture wrongfully granted Bos the construction permit. The village of Nora is less than one mile from the proposed mega-dairy site.
Ken Turner, Warren, Illinois, resident and mega-dairy opponent said it as well as any, “We have to fight for the right to breathe air and have drinkable water… This is not the ag you grew up with. This is not the future of ag.”
Think about it this way. While the residents of Nora, Warren, and Waddams Grove struggle to protect the air, water, and quality of life in their communities, will Bos’ mega-dairy help drive 100 tri-state family farm dairy operations out of business, or just 50?
Contact: John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org or 402.687.2103 x 1010.
A.J. Bos, the Bakersfield, California, dairy magnate with a dairy empire of over 50,000 cows in multiple states, is seeking to build two industrial dairy sites with at least 5,500 cows and heifers. Illinois law would allow him to double the number of cows at each site within two years, with no additional supervision, if the cost of the expansion is less than 50 percent of the initial cost of construction.
Despite stiff opposition from local residents, and an 11 to five vote earlier this year by the Jo Daviess County Board recommending that the Illinois Department of Agriculture deny the mega-dairy construction permit, Bos was able to convince the department to grant a construction permit for the site.
Members of Helping Others Maintain Environmental Standards, a grassroots organization that sprung up in Nora, Illinois (population 200) and surrounding communities in opposition to the Bos mega-dairies, have filed for an injunction against the construction arguing that the Illinois Department of Agriculture wrongfully granted Bos the construction permit. The village of Nora is less than one mile from the proposed mega-dairy site.
Ken Turner, Warren, Illinois, resident and mega-dairy opponent said it as well as any, “We have to fight for the right to breathe air and have drinkable water… This is not the ag you grew up with. This is not the future of ag.”
Think about it this way. While the residents of Nora, Warren, and Waddams Grove struggle to protect the air, water, and quality of life in their communities, will Bos’ mega-dairy help drive 100 tri-state family farm dairy operations out of business, or just 50?
Contact: John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org or 402.687.2103 x 1010.
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Mega Sized Dairy
RECALLS, UNFAVORABLE PRESS, LAWSUITS ARE IN ORDER-BIG DAIRY'S STINK!
mega dairy farms
Whose running this country anyways - the will of the people or the will of big farm corporations? That's one thing I think we should ask the presidential candidates - don't you?
mega farms
Mega Farms
What about the groundwater? All of that cow-dodo, etc. that is going to go into the ground water and eventually in to a river is scarry.
thanks for the comments
I apologize for being away and not replying to these comments earlier, i agree in the most part... as regards the poiny about immigrant labor, i'm more troubled by the fact that these facilities replace farmers (owner-operators) with low-wage labor at all, but I'll add to that by saying that ill-conceived immigration policies are creating an illegal labor pool that industrial livestock operators and packing plants use to keep their labor costs low and exploit workers, all workers, not just illegal aliens. This is part of what i mean when I say that we should level the playing field and make these places actually compete.
To the comment about water quality, imagine how many acres of land would be needed to land apply manure from 22,000 dairy cows... that's why they want to build large holding lagoons and not land apply it all. God help the people of Jo Daviess in 15 or 20 years when A.J. Bos leaves town and his big hole in the ground full of you know what.
WATER WELLS
WATER WELLS
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