Central Wisconsin Fetes Legal Victory over Factory Farm by Talking Tourism and Recreation

Huge sand deposits in region guarantee environmental and health
catastrophes if millions of gallons of liquid and aerial
cow manure are to be dumped into the environment.
(Mal Contends)

"I cried when I got the news," said Nancy Koch of Saratoga, Wisconsin reached this morning by phone.

Ms. Koch referred to news of a legal victory over a proposed massive factory farm in central Wisconsin that would devastate an entire region, (Golden Sands Dairy LLC v. Town of Saratoga, (Wisconsin Court System)), (Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune), (Mal Contends), (WSAW-TV).

It was a far cry from July 2012 when the Wysocki outfit sprung its plans for the proposed factory, (or CAFO for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation), that would become a hazardous-waste vectoring operation predictably polluting area groundwater, drinking waters, and surface waters, with millions of gallons of liquidized cow manure, among other detrimental health and economic effects, (Mal Contends), (John Ikerd).

At the July 2012 meeting, the local State Rep. Scott Krug, (R-Nekoosa, Wisconsin) and CAFO supporter, told Koch: "Quit your bitching," so Koch and fellow clean water supporters knew they were up against corporate money and political lackeys not connected to the future of the region.

James Wysocki of the Wysocki Family of Companies corporation thinks he can make more money in the glutted milk market so the costs that residents and communities would pay is acceptable to Wysocki who lives safely away from the proposed "Golden Sands Dairy, (LLC)," sited in the town of Saratoga located in the central sands region of Wisconsin.

Wysocki's inflicting costs onto society without consent is called a negative externality. Most folks in central Wisconsin think it's the work of a sociopath.

Notes Joshua Yelle, a research fellow in agricultural economics:

There are seven sources of negative impacts on human beings that can directly be correlated to the CAFO industry. They are as follows: Air contamination, water contamination, pathogens, insect vectors, obesity, resistant antibiotics and negative financial and mental externalities. 

Wysocki's purposes and lack of conscience in these matters offer a portrait of a societal nemesis.

Wysocki can still appeal to the Wisconsin Supreme Court but folks in central Wisconsin say they haven't felt this way in a long time.

Writes Criste Greening in one of a flurry of communications on social and local media by area residents the last 24 hours:

Thank you to all our town residents, town board, and the legal team who have stood along side us in this fight and who will continue to stand with us if Wysocki should decide to appeal to the WI Supreme Court. It has been 5 years of sacrificing time away from family, money from our bank accounts, and countless hours of sleep. Today we can celebrate a victory and a huge amount of stress lifted from our shoulders. And tomorrow we will begin the wait.

Wysocki has 30 days to appeal the decision so this fight is not over and if he chooses to appeal we will battle him all the way to the Supreme Court with just as much fire and determination as we have demonstrated these past 5 years. Wysocki's greed and contamination is not welcome in Saratoga.

What's the next step among residents and communities?

These families fighting Wysocki are so intimately tied to their communities that several reminded this writer in phone calls of their fight in promoting tourism and recreation in the coming warm months:

From Don Ystad of Adams County Wisconsin who has been promoting tourism and recreation for years:

Take a step back from the politics of this situation and ask yourself, 'what is best for the state of Wisconsin?  Another CAFO sited, or the preservation and growth of an existing, vibrant area, poised to be the 'golf mecca of the Midwest?' 

Think existing class A trout streams, existing lakes surrounded by 5,400 properties, two existing golf courses at Lake Arrowhead, the new Wisconsin Trapshooters Home facility, Dyracuse recreational area, TriNorse ski jump, and the new Sand Valley Golf Club just begun, all within a few miles of the proposed CAFO.  Weigh that against the proposed CAFO with it's 49 high-cap wells and manure enough to fill Lambeau field up to the cheap seats four times over.

Longtime families dating to the 19th century are still talking biking trails, hiking rails, recreational areas, connecting with existing attractions.

Even as a danger like Wysocki lurks, those caring about their communities plan. As one family contemplates:

POSSIBLE  OPTIONS for WOOD COUNTY and ADAMS COUNTY  RECREATION
AREA  GROWTH and REVENUE

We begin with encouraging the growth of existing recreation areas such as the new World Class Golf Course in Rome area and the Trap Shooting Facility in Adams County and the Tri City Ski Jump on East County O in Adams County.  There may be other sports facilities that can be added to this list.

Furthermore, there is a yearly Water Skiing Tournament held on Lake Wazeecha, just East of Wisconsin Rapids.  That event draws 5,000 people. Also, there is an annual Cross Country Running Event held at the Wisconsin Rapids Ridges Golf Course. That event draws 9,000 people. The Recreation Event Base already exists and could be expanded and be very profitable in increased sales for the business community and added sales tax revenue for Wood County.

The business expansion could be accomplished by developing a major Multi-Sport Recreation Area in Saratoga Township in Sections 19, 20, 29 and 30,  just to the West of Route 13. This would be another major step in  developing the Business Corridor between Wisconsin Rapids, Rome, Adams-Friendship and the Wisconsin Dells.  This new Rec Area would be about 2,000 contiguous acres that could be set up to provide a Central Wisconsin location for State High School Tournaments for various sports and other activities enjoyed in the two Counties. ...

There are many people and businesses that believe the Central Wisconsin Area is ideal for sports activities that draw from all areas of the State. Road access is good and many lodging facilities and restaurants are available.  Also, Wisconsin Rapids has enlarged its airport to facilitate access to the new Sand Valley Golf Course being developed by Mike Keiser just South of Rome.  This same airport could be used for access to other sports at the new 2,000 acre Recreation Park.

Not many years ago, some businessmen with vision developed the Wisconsin Dells and Door County and attracted many vacation people from Illinois.  That kind of vision is needed again for the Wisconsin Rapids and Rome area.

Wisconsin Pro-Water Citizen Groups Hope Unity Leads to Success

Madison, Wisconsin — Can citizens coming together to protect fresh water garner political and legal victories against polluting corporations who befoul and deplete this life-sustaining resource?

Chuck Quirmbach explores the question on Wisconsin Public Radio.

Reports Quirmbach:

Some small citizen groups in Wisconsin are teaming up in hopes of stopping local proposals for more large-scale farms known as concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs.

Criste Greening and some neighbors have spent about five years battling a proposed CAFO near their homes outside Wisconsin Rapids. The battle hasn't been easy, Greening said.

'And because as citizens we have issues and concerns about agriculture, I was termed "the radical environmentalist," Greening said.

Greening told an Environmental Law and Policy Center conference in Madison last week that there's nothing radical about her, saying she's as a special education teacher who wants clean water for her three children.

She said small groups like hers are hoping to boost their clout against CAFOS by banding together and calling themselves the Citizens Water Coalition of Wisconsin. (Facebook), [Links added]

Writing from Rome, Wisconsin in Adams County, John Endrizzi, Rick Antin, Steve Raap, Rick Georgeson and Don Ystad sent a message this week that echoes Quirmbach's piece:

Rome friends and neighbors,

It's called citizen activism.  It's what we have accomplished joining forces with our friends in Saratoga, but even more importantly here in Rome, it's what we have been able to accomplish in elevating the need to protect the lakes that made this town what it is. 

A year and a half ago, we struggled to get permission to hold a citizen meeting about the threat to our lakes in our own town hall. 

Citizen pressure made that happen.   Subsequent citizen involvement at planning meetings, TriLakes meetings, and town board meetings resulted in action by those same groups to recognize what citizens feel is important to the future of our community.  Here are some of those actions:

• Groundwater testing wells where our town line meets Saratoga so we can establish a baseline should it ever be necessary to protect ourselves from the effects of the proposed CAFO.
• Money budgeted and a citizens TriLakes committee formed to assess and resolve the water quality issues in our lakes
• CAFO informational meetings and follow-ups for Rome property owners.
• Water Quality informational meeting with legal, scientific and economic experts
• Funding from TriLakes and Town of Rome for lakes evaluation and cleanup
• Funding from our town board for an Amicus brief challenging high capacity well permits in the central sands area
• Town Board resolutions challenging the potential effects of the CAFO and relaxed high capacity well regulations.
• Planning commission refusal to rezone forest land to agriculture in the critical area along our town line.

The common denominator here is citizen involvement with town government, committees and community organizations to communicate concerns and force the issue when necessary.  While some bureaucrats might suggest our activism is being seen as "politically incorrect", complacency is the bigger danger.  So, to those who took the time, or spoke out, or put their money where their mouth is, thank you for your efforts.  It is helping to elevate the importance of protecting the lakes in our town, and it's making our officials more responsive to the real needs of the community.

It started with our involvement with our friends at Protect Wood County in Saratoga and escalated this year with our Water Lobby Day in Madison on on Feb 8th and the founding of the statewide coalition Criste mentions, Citizens Water Action Coalition.

Thank you to everyone involved, and let's keep it going!

Concerned Rome Citizens Core Group

Industrialized Agriculture Equals Greed, Says Central Wisconsin

'We will push back at every turn, we will put every available road block in their path, we will stage the biggest, most public, most aggressive, fight possible to stop this Factory Farm from entering our community'

Most people have never heard of the town of Saratoga in Wood County, or the town of Rome in Adams County or the Tri-Lakes Management in Nekoosa, Wisconsin.

Even as socially conscious residents work to promote their communities' recreational and tourism attractions, there is a predator in Central Wisconsin, the so-called Wysocki Family of Companies.

Wysocki wants to build a massive CAFO, (Confined Agriculture Feeding Operation), and literally poison its neighbors while the Wysocki family lives far away from its industrialized pollution.

Entire communities are fighting Wysocki.

By Criste Greening of Saratoga Concerned

WYSOCKI = GREED

I hesitate to even waste my time with this post. However, in response to trolls who have hit our site commenting on our videos, I feel it is important the TRUE Family Farmers who are with us in this fight hear from us once again how appreciative we are of their support and ethical farming practices. Including, and most importantly, our appreciation for the healthy stewardship of the lands they work. Large or small a TRUE family farmer cares about his animals, his lands, and the community in which he resides. We appreciate and thank these folks immensely.

TRUE family farmers do not lock their animals up on concrete slabs never allowing them to see the light of day, decreasing their life span immensely. Yes, they use manure to fertilize their soils and keep them healthy. They do not use manure that is loaded with toxic chemicals from footbaths, cleaning residue from hundreds of milk trucks, & industrial waste. Yes - industrial waste, which is everything from mill sludge, factory by product, to the blood, guts, and pauch of slaughterhouse animals - all dumped in the lagoons to rot and liquefy.

So for those of you that are claiming this is ORGANIC manure in the videos, please check your facts. We know 10% of lagoon content can contain these things listed above. Let’s not forget the 167 pathogens found in that liquid manure. Not to mention the over abundance of antibiotic residue that works its way through the animal system. When you pack 4000 animals all in the same location it is inevitable that they need to be protected from disease, so don’t even try to tell me they are not treated “just in case” as a preventative measure even when not sick. Manure from Industrialized AG facilities is of much different “content” than manure from a TRUE family farm. So let’s not insult folks by calling their byproduct ORGANIC.

Additionally, TRUE family farmers do not attempt to move into an established recreational and residential community of 5400 people adjacent to a high tourist area and dump a CAFO holding 6300 animal units in its midst. A TRUE family farmer does not come in and clear cut 8000 acres of forested property to grow crops for the poor animals that will never see the light of day, all so they can produce a shit ton of milk when milk consumption is down 43% already with no projection of going up! A TRUE family farmer does not petition the DNR initially for 49 HCW to grow these crops which will need 24/7 irrigation because they are trying to grow them in SAND. 7.3 BILLION GALLONS OF WATER FROM THE AQUIFER EVERY YEAR!

That is not farming - that is GREED.

The Wysocki “Family” of Companies is by no means a “Family” farm. Not only do they have federal violations for killing migratory birds, they have been caught stacking manure in unpermitted locations, as well as caught winter spreading. Not to mention the monitoring wells in the area around their current CAFO that measure 77 mg/L in nitrate contamination, AND the fact that they have bought people out of their homes due to the constant aerial spraying of manure and water contamination in personal wells. People around their current facility can not even drink or bath in the water coming out of their own faucets.

But you are right WE are the ignorant ones.

You can call us anything you would like, you can continue to troll our Facebook page and make rude and uneducated comments, that is your choice, I will not waste my time deleting them. The bottom line is the Wysocki Family of Companies is a business of GREED. We do not blame the folks working for them who are holding a job to put food on their family table. Unfortunately though, they are the ones caught in the cross hairs of our video and pictures. You don’t see the Wysocki’s out there working the land like a TRUE family farmer!

So, say whatever you wish on this site. WE WILL continue to oppose this monstrosity to our community. We will continue every day having folks out at any location necessary documenting all activity, legal and illegal. We will continue to have our home water test completed every year, and continue to monitor our streamflow monthly and check its chemical content. We will push back at every turn, we will put every available road block in their path, we will stage the biggest, most public, most aggressive, fight possible to stop this Factory Farm from entering our community.

WE WILL NOT STOP!
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