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A Pig factory for Bayfield county...really?

1/30/2015

34 Comments

 
At a recent meeting of the Bayfield County Economic Development Corporation (BCEDC) board of directors, on which I am currently serving a three year appointment, there was discussion regarding how BCEDC might endorse or otherwise support the proposed Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) to be built by an Iowa company in the Township of Eileen near Fish Creek.  It seemed to me, from the comments made, that a number of board members favor this project which has provoked considerable controversy in our community.  When comment turned to ridicule of opposition as "hog wash" (wink, wink--titter, titter), I rose to ask the group what they thought would be the economic benefit of this development to Bayfield County?  Was this development compatible with existing enterprise and patterns for rural settlement?  Will BCEDC support risk of clean air, clean water, health and quality of life to accommodate non-resident industrial agribusiness in our county?  Is BCEDC prepared to accept a share of responsibility for the negative impacts that a 26,350 pig production factory might impose on our citizens?  An offended board member told me that my questions and comments were "inflammatory"!

I agreed to serve on the BCEDC board of directors to represent the interests and opportunities for agriculture in Bayfield County, but I don't share the "bigger is better" attitude that seems to permeate conventional "economic development" thinking.  Although an economy of scale and efficiency is important, farms don't have to be "BIG" to be economically viable.  In fact I believe family farms, resident owner-operated farms, driven by agrarian values, with gate sales of $100,000 to $500,000, offer the greatest benefit to a strong rural economy.  Family farms put people on the land, children in local schools, shoppers on Main Street, residents on the local tax rolls, and healthy food on the table. Family farms can compete in regional food systems--some Bayfield County farm families have been succeeding at this for generations.  With abundant affordable fertile land, clean water, a conducive climate for appropriate crops, and a growing regional market for "locally" produced food, the future can be bright for a new generation of farmers in Bayfield County.

When then Secretary of Agriculture, Earl Butz, preached "Get Big, or Get OUT!" in the 1970's, bankers and farmers bought in.  Then in the 1980's the economy faltered, the farmland price bubble broke, interest rates soared, food prices fell, heavily leveraged farmers who had borrowed to expand couldn't pay their loans.   300,000 family farms were lost.   More banks failed in 1985 than during any year of the 1930's.  Main Street business of many a Midwestern town died; most never to recover.  Industrial agriculture has nothing to offer Bayfield County except increased risks to be managed, and potential ruin when management fails.  I won't be part of any "welcome party" for a CAFO pig factory in Bayfield County--Nope, not me!

34 Comments
Judy Johnson
1/31/2015 02:48:23 am

Good for you, Rick!

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K Cronk
1/31/2015 11:38:16 am

Stick to your guns Rick! Our country is overrun with "go with the flow" or "don't make waves" people who won't stand up to voice their convictions -- even if its for their own benefit! If you don't look out for yourself - who else will?? Thanks!

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Nancy
2/1/2015 11:07:43 am

Thank you, Rick. Well stated. Very disappointed in the role the BCEDC has played in this issue. You voice is important. Thank you again.

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jeff silbert link
2/1/2015 11:15:13 am

P.roud of you for speaking up Rick.We need farmers to speak up to help save true local family farms.According to EWG group through the freedom of information act to the USDA,Reicks CAFO have received over two million dollars in taxpayer subsidies. With their millions of gallons of swine sewage they are a terrible fit for Bayfield County.Please continue speaking out everybody,including farmers.

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Colleen Geisen
2/1/2015 11:45:07 am

BCED members would be doing our county a favor by watching the film To Wood County and Wisconsin from Kewaunee County and learn from what has happened there. No need for more water to be polluted, especially a clean body of water that is such a precious resource: Lake Superior!

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Jim Radtke
2/1/2015 12:28:08 pm

It is unfortunate when some economic development people are willing to sacrifice anything just for the sake of "economic development". I a, glad to see that we have someone with commonsense on that board. Hang in there Rick. You can speak with expertise.

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Will Pipkin
2/1/2015 01:26:36 pm

Thank you, Rick. We need alternatives to the mainstream economic development model. Let's work on that.

Keep on the job, Rick. Hold them accountable.

Development on the backs of public health, clean water, and livable rural communities is not the kind of development we can afford. The company offloads some of it's production costs onto the public. That's not developing a community, its running it into the ground.

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T Bruce Bowers
2/1/2015 04:13:02 pm

Just want to throw my thanks in the ring too, Rick. I sure appreciate a farmer speaking up for the kind of farming that I support as a consumer.

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Judy Jolin
2/1/2015 09:43:41 pm

I posted a comment but do not see it.

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Laura Berlage
2/1/2015 11:55:07 pm

Attending the Bayfield County board meeting last month, one item of interest that came up was that, upon adopting ATCP 51, there is the option to make a case that Bayfield County needs tighter restrictions because of specific environmental and health concerns. The board will be taking this up in their February meeting. If enough people and/or businesses can come together and offer their help with collecting research/data, professional services for making the case, and perhaps even a community-gathered legal defense fund, the possibility of tighter restrictions and maybe even a moritorium may be back on the table. How might we reach out to the folks who need to know this to mobilize support?

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Clare Hintz link
2/2/2015 07:41:10 am

Thank you Rick! Local farm ownership is economic development, not a CAFO with an out-of-state owner!

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Ros Nelson link
2/2/2015 07:57:48 am

THANK YOU RICK! THANK YOU THANK YOU

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James Richard Bailey link
2/2/2015 12:05:31 pm

The dangers of the proposed porcine CAFO go way beyond stink and water pollution. Pig diseases do mutate and cross over into the human population. The 100% fatal diarrhea disease that permeates the pig farming industry in Iowa would be imported into our back yard if Reicksview is allowed to set up shop here.

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Katherine Morrisseau
2/19/2015 11:36:03 am

Miigwitch

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Joe Bates
11/3/2015 08:42:16 pm

Stick to your guns Rick! Thanks for speaking up! We have to protect our largest most valuable resource. Clean water!

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Scott Pitta
11/4/2015 04:17:26 am

These CAFO's, as seen in Kewaunee County are bad for the watershed. Who wants to purchase a house where the water is undrinkable ??

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Vicky westlund
11/4/2015 05:07:23 am

Thank you!

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Nadine Whiteman link
11/4/2015 05:19:02 am

Look no further than Kewaunee County to witness the devastation of a once vibrant community. The 16 corporate farms have created an environment that no longer attracts people to the area. We are being sold out.

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Jeff Peterson
11/4/2015 06:34:10 am

Thanks for taking a stand, Rick. One tool that is often overlooked in these discussions is your county's comprehensive plan. Decisions that are contrary to the vision set forth in the comp plan are subject to challenge.

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Wendy Adams
11/4/2015 06:43:55 am

So important to protect Lake Superior and the beauty of Bayfield County. Keep the pigs in Iowa. I hope your voice is supported and they have to pack their bags and find some other area to pollute.

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Rob
11/4/2015 06:52:34 am

Thank you, Rick. I hope the board does their homework. Where CAFOs come, family farms decline, the environment suffers, and watersheds are ruined. The question "At what cost?" needs to be addressed. I live in the midst of family farms where generations have lived and worked the land. It is family farms that suffer the most when the corporate CAFOs, owned by millionaires who don't even live there or drink the local water, move in. The first one is always just that! Will we give up safe drinking water and our booming tourism for a handful of jobs that will go to imported low wage immigrant workers anyway? I think not. Soldier on! We need voices of reason on the board.

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Barbara A Cunningham
11/4/2015 07:31:48 am

Thank You!

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Betty Ferris
11/4/2015 07:51:31 am

Thank you so much for providing such a wise and articulate 'voice of reason'.

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Al House
11/4/2015 09:52:20 am

Thank you for taking a stand. The future is in the other direction. Smaller, flexible farms that can adapt to local needs and the environment, and offer a livlihood to our neighbors, not to Swift, Armor, and Tyson.

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Kathy DeMars
11/4/2015 02:43:34 pm

THANK YOU Rick Dale!!!!! You are a thinking man and make reasoned and true sensible arguments! The board and area are lucky to have you. Please continue to use your knowledge and clear thinking to retain healthy Eco/ business plans which preserve the abundance we enjoy in this corner of Lake Superior.

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Janis kacvinsky
11/4/2015 04:31:14 pm

Thank you Rick for taking a stand on this issue. I back you 100%.

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George Trudeau link
11/4/2015 05:18:09 pm

Thanks, Rick.
The BCED seems like they are less interested in what makes real sense than what makes cents (and dollars). Keep fighting for us, brother!

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Diane Pecnik
11/4/2015 05:39:02 pm

Thank you for your good sense, integrity and courage.

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Kristy Jensch
11/4/2015 06:50:35 pm

Thank you thank you for standing firm for the small farmers, the land and the water. I am dismayed that the BCED is not interested in hearing from their constituents. Thank you for your representation.

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Carolyn Sneed
11/5/2015 08:48:39 am

Thank you, Rick!

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Madeline Hart
11/5/2015 12:31:41 pm

Thank you for your stridency on this issue , Rick. Keep giving them the true information that they need to hear.

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Noreen Ovadia link
11/5/2015 05:45:14 pm

Thanks Rick! We love dealing with small family farms, (she says smiling wondering where she's going to put that 2nd 100 pounds of leeks)

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Marian Vaughn
11/5/2015 09:22:07 pm

Thank you Rick. You are speaking for so many of us and I hope your voice is heard.

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Jada link
4/14/2019 03:57:58 pm

Great post Rick!

Reply



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    Rick Dale

    Founder
    ​ of Highland Valley Farm

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