Public Bashes Proposed Factory Swine Farm at Bayfield County Hearing

"Control of our food is control of the life in us," read the mural
on the famous Mifflin Street Coop (now closed) urging sustainable
agricultural and organic foods grown by small farmers. As
giant corporate CAFOs devastate Wisconsin waters and
spread disease through pathogens and lack of oxygen in water,
we can say, 'we should have listened to these people.'

Some fifty to sixty people attended the joint Bayfield County Land Conservation Committee and the Bayfield County Planning and Zoning Committee of the County Board of Supervisors hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 6.  Bashes

And if the attendees are any indication, a proposed swine concentrated agricultural feeding operation (CAFO) is about as popular an idea in this picturesque Lake Superior county as the millions of gallons of liquid pig manure the CAFO would produce annually by the projected 14,625 hogs. (Mullen, Ashland Daily Press)

Out of the some twenty speakers at the hearing, only one supports the proposed CAFO, the rest of the speakers are vehemently opposed, a hearing attendee reports.

Public input lasted for about an hour and speakers were allowed three minutes to speak.

The Iowa-based Reicks View Family Farm LLC has not applied for a high capacity water well yet, as is typical in massive, polluting CAFOs.

At the some five-hour hearing, the "two committees also voted unanimously that the Bayfield County Board considers adopting an ordinance prohibiting the application of liquid animal manure and agricultural wastewater using spray irrigation systems based on an ordinance passed by the town of Sevastopol in Door County," reports Amber Mullen today in the Ashland Daily Press.

The Reicks corporation is adopting a terse public posture issuing only short statements and issuing no comment on the unpopularity of siting a CAFO some ten miles from Lake Superior, and in the midst of pristine watersheds.

Scott Dye, a field associate with the Socially Responsible Agricultural Project (SRAP) spoke at the meeting and reflects the public sentiment against the proposed CAFO, sentiment the Reicks corporation—applying for a permit with the DNR under the name, Badgerwood LLC—disregards.

Said SRAP's Dye: "People that have chosen to call Bayfield County home have done so for reasons that do not involve the stink and pollution and the impacts of quality of life that come with a corporate hog factory. This application isn’t the end of the discussion, it’s the beginning of a discussion."

Badgerwood LLC

Information about Badgerwood LLC is not available online at the Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions (DFI).

Badgerwood LLC are representing themselves as a LLC, but they are not registered as a LLC with Wisconsin's DFI, per a search of business entities, and a phone conversation this morning with a DFI official.

The DFI site reads:

"Chapters 178, 179, 180, 181, and 183 of the Wisconsin Statutes contain a general provision that a foreign (out-of-state) corporation, nonstock corporation, limited partnership, limited liability company, cooperative association, or limited liability partnership, shall not transact business in this state until it has obtained a certificate of authority or registration from the Department of Financial Institutions."

This raises the question whether Badgerwood LLC is doing business illegally if they filed an application with the Wisconsin DNR under the name, Badgerwood LLC, without registering with the DFI.

Reicks View Farms LLC registered with DFI on 08/27/2014.

Reicks' registered agent is: INCORP SERVICES INC of Madison, Wisconsin (901 South Whitney Way).

Reicks' principal office is located in Lawler, Iowa.