Walmartization of Wisconsin's Dairy Heritage

Clean water activists in Saratoga, Wisconsin fight for
water and oppose the siting of a proposed factory farm

Wisconsin residents are working to preserve a way of life, and revitalize a beautiful state primed for tourism and recreation.

Big Ag's response is a hard 'no.'

The Wysocki Family of Companies wants to begin operations of a massive factory farm sited in Saratoga, Wisconsin.

The problem for Wyscoki who first blindsided the region in 2012 with his plans is massive opposition to this project and a milk glut that makes the whole idea irrational for the foreseeable future.

That Wysocki's project would devastate a four-county region in central Wisconsin is not a concern for this corporation.

Over the entire state, citizen action is fighting the "Walmartization" of Wisconsin's dairy heritage, (Rome Saratoga Friendly, Kewaunee Cares).

By Don Ystad of Rome, Wisconsin

An interesting historical perspective on the milk lobby. Demand dwindles as consumers question the health benefit of drinking milk, and family farmers are driven out by the factory farmers. Meanwhile commerce in rural towns evaporates as small dairy farmers hang it up. The Walmartization of our dairy heritage.

And, Wysocki has now filed for appeal of the recent ruling reversing his vested rights. It makes one wonder why Wysocki would persist with his plans for a 5,300 cow dairy CAFO in Saratoga in a declining market, and in a residential/recreation area where local government and citizens are lined up by the hundreds to make his life miserable if he is successful in his appeal to the supreme court. I don't pretend to know about any behind the scenes negotiations that may have happened, but if the alternative is to abide by Saratoga's ordinance limiting the size of a farm and manure application, it's no wonder he would appeal.

So, what do we do in the meantime? Keep the pressure on our legislators to try to undo the lobbying influence of big agriculture. Support the legal actions being taken by Clean Wisconsin against the DNR for issuing high cap wells permits that ignore cumulative effect. Have your well tested to establish a baseline. For Rome-area people, you can register for testing and get your bottle at the Rome Town Hall on Saturday, July 15th - watch for details. Let's keep moving forward until we know Wysocki is finally defeated.

Read on - interesting article from National Public Radio.

Don
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When's the last time you had a glass of cow's milk?

Americans are drinking a lot less milk than they used to. According to the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the average person drinks 18 gallons a year. Back in the 1970s it was more like 30 gallons a year. We once hoisted a glass with dinner, soaked our breakfast cereal or dipped into the occasional milkshake.

Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University and author of Food Politics, says, "The dairy industry has a lot of public relations that it is going to need to do to convince the public that it is producing a product that is healthy, good for animals, good for people and good for the planet."

Central Wisconsin Is Determined to Stop Proposed Factory Farm

Protect Wood County Wisconsin and Its Neighbors, says
a growing citizens movement in central Wisconsin

News the corporation owning a proposed factory farm is seeking Supreme Court review of a state appellate decision threatening the project has citizens determined to stop the operation of the complex first proposed in 2012 and sited in central Wisconsin.

Even as the Wysocki Family of Companies plans to pollute the region with 10s of millions of gallons of liquid cow manure annually while depleting ground and surface waters, communities plan to protect the water and their homes.

The case is 2015AP001258, Golden Sands Dairy LLC v. Town of Saratoga, [(Wisconsin Court System), (Mal Contends), (Mal Contends), (Golden Sands Dairy LLC v. Town of Saratoga, (Wisconsin Court System), (Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune), (Mal Contends), (WSAW-TV)]. [Note, enter   15ap1258   in the Appeal Number field, leave the rest of fields blank and hit search at bottom-left of the linked Wisconsin Supreme Court page.]

The prospects for Wysocki to succeed at the Wisconsin Supreme Court in this litigation are not conditioned on case and statutory law in Wisconsin with respect to an area of property rights in vested rights law.

Industrialized agriculture is power-politics, corruption of the law and the will to destroy entire communities without regard to anything or anybody beyond money for the publicly subsidized Wysocki corporation.

The Republican Party has backed Wysocki with a series of legislative and regulatory assaults on the generations-long commitment of Wisconsin to protect water.

Of the several sources contacted who oppose the Wysocki factory farm in central Wisconsin, all say they do agree their families mean little in the face of the Republican Party's commitment to abdicate protecting Wisconsin waters by simply declaring that protections such as Wisconsin's Public Trust doctrine have been misinterpreted by policymakers.

The language on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources webpage now reads in part: "Wisconsin citizens have pursued legal and legislative action to clarify or change how this body of law is interpreted and implemented."

The Republican Party of Wisconsin looks for increased clarity in the coming months, (Johnson, Wisconsin Public Radio).

After-all, with respect to public water resources, recall the Orwellian report that "at just this moment it had been announced that Oceania was not after all at war with Eurasia. Oceania was at war with Eastasia," (Orwell, 1984).

From an email communication sent to supporters of Protect Wood County, (Wisconsin), and Its Neighbors, a motley crew of Winston Smith Wisconsinites refusing to bend to the threat to their homes and their health.
---
Phone contact this afternoon to the clerk's office of the Wisconsin Supreme Court confirmed Wysocki has appealed the State Appellate Court decision regarding vested rights.  He officially filed his appeal today to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. 

What now and what does this all mean?  First, the court will determine if it will indeed hear the case or reject the appeal. According to www.wicourts.gov The losing party in the Court of Appeals may ask the Wisconsin Supreme Court to hear the case, called a Petition for Review. The Supreme Court receives about 1,000 petitions for review each term, and agrees to hear approximately 100 of these cases (Sept.-June).

The Wysocki -vs- Saratoga case will first receive a preliminary review to determine if it should even be considered by the Justices.  If it is determined that no review is appropriate the case is over and the State Appellate ruling stands.  If it is determined that it may be a reviewable case it will then go before the Justices, it takes the vote of at least three justices to take a case on a Petition for Review and have it placed on the Supreme Court calendar.

There is no solid information on how long it will take to determine if our case will be heard at the Supreme Court level. We will be watching this closely and will let you know as soon as we hear a determination.

What can be done while we wait?  First and foremost, we continue to bring forth the truth regarding the effects of the proposed CAFO to our community and groundwater in a very public and outspoken manner.  Multiple avenues are open to us to continue to spread the word about Wysocki and the potential contamination from his proposed project.

Once again we need all hands on deck spreading the word loud and clear to Wysocki that we will continue to fight back no matter how far he chooses to push.

Assistance needed in the following areas.

Parade Crew Needed!

June 18th
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Once again we are looking for fresh ideas and friendly faces to join our Parade Committee.  We need to start brainstorming and organizing this year's float for the Cranberry Blossom Parade.

Participating in the parade allows us to connect with thousands of locals to spread the word about our situation and our fight. This event is an excellent opportunity to share our message and encourage others to stand with us.

The parade date will be upon us faster than you think, do not delay and register your commitment today.

Please click here to sign up for Parade Committee

Sign Crew

Spring repairs are needed after winter weather damage.

Some of our ladies need attention.  Sun damage, old age, and winter weather have taken a toll on signs throughout the community.  We are looking for volunteers to hit them with a little fresh paint and perhaps replace ones that have come down over the past few months.  Anyone willing to assist in this endeavor would be greatly appreciated. 

We will also be ordering new plastic signs for those lost to the winter snow.  We will keep you posted as to when these become available.

Please click here to sign up to be a part of the Sign Committee

Water Testing Event

Plans are in the works!

We have no idea what will happen in the courts with Wysocki. What we do know is we are not about to let our guard down and become complacent.  Instead we will continue to be proactive in protecting our community.  Part of being proactive is once again conducting tests to prove our water in Saratoga is pristine.

This is just a heads up that we once again will be hosting a water testing event later this summer.  We do not have specifics cemented in stone, but wanted to alert everyone to be watching for further information.

Regardless of the latest court decision, our fight with Wysocki is not over.  Everyone is once again encouraged to have their water tested and included in the town's records.

Stay tuned for further updates coming soon.

Updated - Central Wisconsin Proposed Factory Farm Expected to Make Big Decision Today

Clean water activists in Saratoga, Wisconsin fight for
water and oppose the siting of a proposed factory farm.

Updated - Wyscoki factory farm petition filed at Wisconsin Supreme Court. [Note , enter   15ap1258   in the Appeal Number field, leave the rest of fields blank and hit search at bottom-left of the linked Wisconsin Supreme Court page.]
 ---
A proposed massive factory farm in central Wisconsin has until the end of May 15, Monday to file an appeal to an adverse state appellate decision threatening to kill the Wysocki Family of Companies' plan for the operation of the Golden Sands Dairy, (LLC), in the town of Saratoga.

The appeal would be made to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. [Note , enter   15ap1258   in the Appeal Number field, leave the rest of fields blank and hit search at bottom-left of the linked Wisconsin Supreme Court page.]

The case is 2015AP001258, Golden Sands Dairy LLC v. Town of Saratoga, [(Wisconsin Court System), (Mal Contends), (Mal Contends), (Golden Sands Dairy LLC v. Town of Saratoga, (Wisconsin Court System), (Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune), (Mal Contends), (WSAW-TV)].

Sources contacted in Wood County Wisconsin have no idea what the Wysocki corporation will do, and believe a last-minute filing that would not be reflected in the online Wisconsin court system until Tuesday morning is possible. Other sources say the proposed CAFO may be dead, stressing they don't know.

The proposed Wysocki factory farm has caused sleepy central Wisconsin to ignite as communities in Adams and Wood counties have erupted in protest. They fear the operation of the CAFO would pollute waters and devalue property in this entire region.

Following is an April 13 press release from the prevailing parties representing the community of Saratoga and residents opposing the operation of the Wysocki CAFO:

CONTACT

Sarah Botham, Botham, ink.; sarahbotham@bothamink.com or 608.444.1101
Attorney Paul Kent at Stafford Rosenbaum; pkent@staffordlaw.com or 608.259.2665 or
Attorney Remzy Bitar at Arenz, Molter, Macy, Riffle & Larson SC; rbitar@ammr.net; (262) 548-1340

COURT OF APPEALS SAYS WYSOCKI’S BUILDING PERMITS DO NOT AUTHORIZE USE OF 4,660 ACRES IN TOWN OF SARATOGA FOR LAND-SPREADING MANURE
The Town’s 2012 zoning ordinance governs land use off of the site of the diary buildings.

MADISON, Wis. [April 13, 2017] The 4th District Court of Appeals ruled today in favor of the Town of Saratoga, holding that the vested rights that the Wysocki Family of Companies have in a building permit for seven dairy buildings on 98 acres do not authorize them to use more than 4,660 acres throughout the Town for the application of manure, according to Attorney Remzy Bitar, one of the attorneys representing the Town on the appeal.   In so doing, the court overturned a 2015 circuit court ruling in Wysocki’s favor and directed the circuit court to enter summary judgement for the Town. In 2012 the Wysocki Family of Companies proposed the siting of Golden Sands Dairy (GSD), a 5300-cow operation, in the Central Wisconsin Town of Saratoga.

“We are pleased with the Court of Appeals decision, Bitar said. “The circuit court decision was an unprecedented extension of existing vested rights law, which the Court of Appeals refused to adopt.” Today’s decision allows a 2012 Town zoning ordinance that restricts agricultural use because of concerns regarding groundwater contamination, to control the land use for those 4,660 acres.  This decision precludes Wysocki from using the property to land-apply 55 million gallons of liquid manure and 25,000 tons of solid manure generated at GSD.

In an earlier round of cases, the courts held that the Wysocki’s building permit application for seven dairy buildings was valid because the application was filed before the Town completed its zoning ordinance.  In the current case, Wysocki argued that building permits for seven buildings automatically allowed Golden Sands Dairy the right to land-apply manure to 4,660 acres throughout the Town and away from the building site. That was rejected by the Court of Appeals which noted that the Wisconsin vested rights law has not applied to parcels separate from the parcels for which the building permit was issued.

“We hope this decision will facilitate a resolution of this on-going dispute,” said Attorney Paul Kent, representing the Town with respect to other issues associated with GSD.
#

Hitting Wisc Communities for Unwanted Products by Polluting CAFOs Is Not Worth It

Why would anyone consider imperiling Wisconsin communities for the profits of corporate ag, while destroying small farmers, depleting our water and polluting municipalities so badly, families are being driven out of their homes?

Politicians do it for the money, and the money.

The same with CAFOs, using corporate ag's anti-community business model, they do it for the money.

The hell with everyone else.

Your children poisoned? Too bad.  Your home uninhabitable? Breaks my heart.

Got a call from an old friend. He told me liquid manure spreading is so bad, he can't open his windows. He lives in Door County.

Big Ag is destroying Wisconsin, and Republican politicians from Joel Kitchens to Scott Krug to Scott Walker are running a con.

Governor Walker and concerned citizens blind copied here

By Don Ystad,
Rome, Wisconsin

With milk prices down 41% since September of 2014, and the recent announcement that the US government is buying 11 million pounds of excess cheese for distribution to food pantries, does it still make sense to continue offering grants to increase dairy farming in Wisconsin? And more importantly for those of us living in the Rome/Saratoga, (Adams, Wood counties), area, how long will your administration continue supporting the proposal for an 8,000 acre, 5,300 cow dairy CAFO in the midst of our established residential/recreational area?

Seriously, how can one justify putting at risk the property, health and lifestyle of a population dense community for a dairy CAFO in a seriously depressed market where producers are hanging on through government insurance programs and subsidies?

Were we under a drastic shortage of necessary food product, one could rationalize the argument that my neighbors and I should sacrifice in order to feed our fellow citizens. But, when the supply far outpaces the demand for dairy, as it has the past two years and is worsening, it makes no sense to allow these communities to spin in the wind, fighting to preserve their property values, health and well being, and their lifestyle, while the proposed Golden Sands Dairy remains an unbelievable possibility for the thousands of us in harms way.

Please explain why this proposed project, or any expansion of dairy for that matter, is still viable in Wisconsin. Facing additional state budget cuts, it makes no sense to offer grants and other incentives to increase dairy. A neighbor asked me who that one decision maker is that considers all the factors where this proposed CAFO is concerned, and makes the determination that the well being of this existing residential/recreational area is more important than the CAFO.  I would hope that person is you, Governor Walker.

Thank you,
---
See, Say cheese to a market glut. (Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune).

Wood County Wisconsin Polluters' Lobby Working Against Citizens

Town of Saratoga, Wisconsin fights factory farm
in central Wisconsin

Secrecy and Corruption Define Wood County Republicans Protecting Ag Polluters

Violations of the Wisconsin Open Meeting and Open Records law mark Wood County Board (Wisconsin) Chair Lance Pliml and his polluters' lobby working against the families of Wood County.

Wood County clean-water advocates and the town government of Saratoga are working to stop a locally notorious polluter, the Wysocki corporation, from operating a massive, industrialized agricultural factory that would inject toxic liquid cow manure into central Wisconsin's environment, "producing as much [untreated] waste as a city with a population of 106,000 people every single day," (Protect Wood County and Its Neighbors).

Clean water advocates want protection of their drinking and surface waters.

No, says the polluters' lobby, many of whom are Republicans in Wood County county government.

Reports Jonathan Anderson in the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin this week:

Bolstering regulations against water contamination has proved once again to be a highly charged topic among members of the Wood County Board.

The board on Tuesday considered a draft ordinance aimed at penalizing people who contaminate ground and surface waters, partly in response to concerns about a proposed large-scale dairy in Saratoga.

But the measure did not pass and was instead referred to a committee for further consideration, drawing the ire of the legislation’s supporters.

Last year Lance Pliml and Republican allies objected to citizens attending a County Board meeting saying in part, "I think this is an attempt to put pressure on the committee for one point of view," (Madden, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune), (Mal Contends), after Pliml publicly said he discouraged citizen attendance.

Democracy escapes Pliml. And it's against Wisconsin's Open Meetings law to actively discourage and impede attendance of lawful meetings.

Pro-clean water citizens enjoy popular support, but a Republican operation working with Pliml is fighting the will of citizens. This Republican polluters' lobby demands citizens not come to public meetings and refuses open record requests, in violation of Wisconsin Open Meeting and Open Records laws.

For the privilege of forbidding local democracy, declining property values and the Wysocki corporation's new "forty-nine high capacity wells, capable of drawing 7.3 billion gallons of water from the groundwater aquifer annually," the polluters' lobby is promising to turn central Wisconsin into an economic moonscape, (Protect Wood County and Its Neighbors).

Wysocki owns another CAFO, contaminating water in adjacent Juneau County, (Anderson, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin) (Mal Contends).

The Wysocki corporate family lives safely away in Custer, Wisconsin and runs operations some 20 miles north in Bancroft, Wisconsin so it's no skin off Wysocki's back if he economically and ecologically kills a region trying to make a come-back with tourism and recreation, (Mal Contends).

Wysocki is not part of the community, he's a parasite.

Criste Greening of Protect Wood County and Its Neighbors made an Open Records request to Wood County Board (Wisconsin) Chair Lance Pliml.

Greening was refused.

Pliml's Repulbican ally, Wood County Corporate Counsel Peter Kastenholz, advocates the dissolution of Wisconsin's Open Records law, (Anderson, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin).

Below is an edited reproduction of Greening's Open Records update sent to supporters this week:

Friends and Concerned Citizens,

Message 3 of 3

Where do I even begin to bring everyone up to speed on the Wood County Board/Chairman Pliml saga that has unfolded over the past month? I have attempted to form this email three times and each time my temper has gotten the best of me requiring yet another re-write.

As many of you are aware from previous emails shared, Wood County Board Chairman Lance Pliml was served a second (more specific) Open Records Request as a result of his ridiculous response to the first one.  If you missed that email feel free to get caught up HERE.

I have received a response to the second request.  In a nutshell, Chairman Pliml had Corporate Counsel Peter Kastenholz respond to my second Open Records Request stating that I had previously received all pertinent information and that Mr. Pliml was under no obligation to “Memorialize” conversations had with Attorneys regarding the [proposed] Operating Ordinance discussed.  Even though Mr. Pliml has shared publicly on two occasions that he would supply requested information, he now again refuses.

Mr. Pliml’s refusal to answer the simple question regarding who he had spoken to comes as no surprise to me or other members of our core group.  Many (including myself) have believed from the very beginning that Mr. Pliml had never truly discussed the [proposed] Operating Ordinance with anyone nor had he actually spoken to “some of the best Attorneys in the state”.  Mr Pliml’s initial response to the first Open Records Request lacked any documentation regarding the Operating Ordinance therefore proving clearly his lack of honesty and integrity.

One would think if Mr. Pliml, as an elected official, had really gone the extra mile for his constituents he would be more than willing to share the information gathered and willingly discuss conversations had.  Chairman Plim instead hides behind Corporate Counsel and refuses to share said information.  The reason is simple - he has nothing to share and never has.

I personally am done dealing with Chairman Pliml and need to stop myself here as I have nothing nice to say regarding his character, ethics, integrity, or professionalism.  I do ask that if you are as irritated as I am with this situation that you share your feelings freely with Chairman Pliml and the entire Wood County Board ... .

Thank you all for your continued support.

Criste Greening

Targeting a Wisconsin Region

Industrialized Agriculture are some sick SOBs.

Rhonda Cain-Carrell (Facebook) reports from central Wisconsin, under assault as Big Ag moves to literally drive people out of their homes with political backing from all Wisconsin Republicans with no dissent.

A massive liquid manure truck in central Wisconsin, making one of 100s
of trips as the the Wysocki corporation attempts to drive multi-generational
families out of their homes. The truck which transport massive amounts of
liquid manure drives by signs reading: Clean Water, Clean Air,
Wisconsin DNR, Please Care, (Protect Wood County and Its Neighbors).
Photo by Rhonda Cain-Carrell.

Big Ag Dumps on Wisconsin

Industrialized agriculture is self-consciously destroying entire regions of the state, and trying to chase citizens out of their own communities.

The assault was captured in central Wisconsin last week by Rhonda Cain-Carrell.

As awful as this shot is, the reality of what Big Ag is doing to Wisconsin
is much worse. It took approx. 2.5 minutes to dump the liquid manure
waste contents of a tanker in Portage County, Town of Grant, next to a
popular trout stream. Across the street is Saratoga, Wisconsin where the
Wysocki corporation wants to build a massive factory farm in Wood County.
Image by Rhonda Cain-Carrell

Republicans, Big Ag Inflict Nightmare onto Central Wisconsin

Liquid manure/waste trucks coming and going in a downpour.
This is the worst time to spread because of the risks to groundwater
and surface water. BUT ... the trucks just kept coming non-stop for 24 1/2
hours ... rain or shine at a stone's throw from the Ten Mile Creek trout stream
in central Wisconsin, days before Memorial Day weekend.
Image by Rhonda Cain-Carrell

Proposed Golden Sands Dairy, in Saratoga, Wood
County, Wisconsin will devastate an already
troubled region.

Happy Memorial Day

No time to take our eyes off what Scott Walker, Scott Krug, the Wysocki corporation and its collaborators are doing to central Wisconsin—a picturesque region of sand, dense pines, streams and lakes now dying before our eyes—under tons of liquid cow manure, high capacity wells sucking up ground and surface waters; political corruption, and apathy.

In the field on 80th Street (County Hwy. U in central Wisconsin) an injecting rig sits poised before the Memorial Day weekend just waiting for the manure trucks to start their relentless circling from two counties away (Juneau County, Town of Armenia) to pick up and deliver Wysocki/Sommers liquid manure to Portage County, Town of Grant via Saratoga, Wisconsin.

Nice way to honor the fallen, Big Ag.

Rhonda Cain-Carrell chronicled the carnage last week, taking pictures showing an effort by massive polluters to drive down property valuations and befoul the environment in an area service professionals acknowledge on background is already effectively red-lined.

One of the objectives of Wisconsin Republicans is to make Wisconsin so inhospitable and toxic that citizens objecting will leave the state.

"The Wysockies quietly buy up land, use it up, literally poison their neighbors, the hell with everyone else. These people do not live on the CAFOs; they live far-away. And, yes, there is something sociopathic about this."
—Saratoga, Wisconsin resident

No time to ask, but what is wrong with these people?

Corrupt Republican government will wait until ground and surface waters are so befouled and depleted that safe drinking water in central Wisconsin is no longer feasible, and then deflect all accountability.

Shots below at bottom.

By Rhonda Cain-Carrell

The Ten Mile Creek is a beautiful trout stream that starts in Portage County, Town of Grant, Wisconsin and runs through the Town of Saratoga in Wood County. On the Portage County side, the Ten Mile has much less flow because of heavy pumping of high capacity wells for agriculture, picking up flow the further west it travels through wooded, unirrigated land of Saratoga.

In Jan. 2015, a man from Adams County named Scott Kotlowski applied for two high capacity wells for irrigated agriculture on two Managed Forest Land parcels just east of the Wood County, Town of Saratoga in Portage County, Town of Grant. I very suspiciously watched these parcels, as they are adjacent to our beloved Ten Mile Creek and were taken out of Wysocki's original footprint of the proposed Golden Sands Dairy CAFO.

I knew Kotlowski was a straw buyer and applier for Wysocki. The DNR assured us these wells would not be considered/approved until after the Wysocki project was sorted through and done. In Feb. 2016, Kotlowski applied for another high capacity well permit for a large parcel that borders State Hwy. 73 and County Hwy. U (80th St.) that he had bought. This parcel was also part of Wysocki's original footprint for the proposed crap factory they want to site in Saratoga.

THEN the horrible legislation pertaining to high cap wells begins. Transfers of well permits, rapid approvals, rubber stamping, deregulation of protections for water, wetlands and doing away with public rights stages for waters of the state. When some of the garbage did not pass, they went to the AG for his bought-and paid-for opinion on cumulative impacts not needing to be observed, (Verburg, Wisconsin State Journal). What the hell?! The level of corruption!!!!

The Ten Mile Creek runs through this section where Kotlowski's wells have been applied for. In these same fields, on Thursday, May 19th, Wysocki Produce Company trucks started hauling solid manure for two days straight. On Tuesday, May 24, 21 liquid manure trucks carrying the liquid waste/manure from Central Sands Dairy to the Kotlowski field on 90th Street between Tower Road and Oak Street.

It rained so many times before, during and after this process ... literally gully-washers, (an extremely heavy fall of rain usually of short duration), ... and they still kept hauling and injecting. Approximately 490 liquid manure trucks carrying 7,000-8,000 gallons of liquid manure to one little 73 acre field ... a stone's throw from our beloved trout stream, the Ten Mile Creek. This was after two days worth of solid manure the previous week.

The part of this that you will love is that they trucked the massive amounts of waste two counties to dump it next to our creek and just across the Portage County line. They have many acres where this could have been disposed of very close to Central Sands Dairy, (Backer of Saratoga CAFO tied to tainted wells, (Anderson, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)), and thousands of acres that were not adjacent to Saratoga, a township with the second highest population density in all of Wood County and last ... but not least ... why right next to the Ten Mile Creek? What do you think the answer to this question is?

Saratoga has made it very clear industrialized agriculture and CAFOs are not sustainable in our sandy soil. Our groundwater is extremely susceptible to contamination under the best circumstances. In gully-washing rain ... wouldn't you be careful so close to our trout stream?

Pictures of Devastation in Central Wisconsin. All photos by Rhonda Cain-Carrell

Ten Mile Creek on Tower Road, east of Hwy. U (80th St.). —
Portage County, Town of Grant, Wisconsin
Image by Rhonda Cain-Carrell

A dozen liquid manure/waste trucks sitting in Ellis Industries field (90th Street)
adjacent to Kotlowski field (Wysocki may have bought from Kotlowski, who purchased
the land after Wysocki pulled it from the original proposed Golden Sands Dairy plan).
The others sit at the Central Sands Dairy in Juneau County, Town
of Armenia ... two counties away. Notice the ponding? Liquid cow manure.
A stone's throw from Ten Mile Creek, a trout stream.
Image by Rhonda Cain-Carrell

Ponding. Too much liquid manure and rain.
— at Portage County, Town of Grant, Wisconsin
Image by Rhonda Cain-Carrell

Liquid manure/waste trucks coming and going in a downpour. This is the worst
time to spread because of the risks to groundwater and surface water.
BUT ... the trucks just kept coming non-stop for 24 1/2 hours ... rain or shine.
— at A stone's throw from the Ten Mile Creek. This hazardous waste, the
trucks are carrying, make no mistake.
Image by Rhonda Cain-Carrell

It took approx. 2.5 minutes to dump the liquid manure waste contents of a tanker.
— at Portage County, Town of Grant. Across the street from Saratoga.
Image by Rhonda Cain-Carrell

Risk of runoff HIGH for much of Wisconsin that day and they were spreading
in the rain.
Image by Rhonda Cain-Carrell

A, center pivot pump, chemical tank and power box in the
Ellis-Wysocki field with new center pivot rig in background.
Why would 2 systems the same age look SO different?
— at Across the road from Saratoga in Portage County.
Image by Rhonda Cain-Carrell

In the field on 80th Street (County Hwy. U) the injecting rig sits
poised before the holiday Memorial Day weekend just waiting for the manure
trucks to start their relentless circling from two counties away
(Juneau County, Town of Armenia)
to pick up and deliver Wysocki-Sommers liquid manure to Portage County,
Town of Grant  via Saratoga.
Notice the draglines? —
Pic taken from Oak Street.
Image by Rhonda Cain-Carrell

New center pivot irrigation rig in a field in which Scott Kotlowski, of Adams County,
applied for the high capacity well permit. This parcel and the one on
90th Street were part of Wysocki's proposed Golden Sands Dairy
project that asked for 40 hi cap wells. He scaled back to 33 wells and
Kotlowski bought the property and did the same thing
Wysocki had planned on doing.
Image by Rhonda Cain-Carrell

90th Street is the field Scott Kotlowski applied for one of the two high capacity
wells in this section. Until last year, this was Managed Forest Land.
Portage County, Town of Grant, Wisconsin.
Image by Rhonda Cain-Carrell

Lake Michigan Shore-located Business and Home Redlined

Pictured is a traveling gun spray irrigating manure. In the practice
of spray irrigation of manure, aerosolized lagoon waste
is reduced into smaller particulate droplets,
which are easily ingested and inhaled by humans and animals.

Hopes of actually selling commercial and residential lakeshore property are 'zero percent'

The destruction wrought by industrialized agriculture is immense and growing, (WisconsinWatch, Door County Pulse).

By Robyn Mulhaney
Kewaunee County Wisconsin

This is a very personal issue for me. As a resident of Kewaunee County with a tourism-based business I am living the nightmare you are trying to stop [in central Wisconsin].

My business is 15-yrs.-old. At the time I built new construction along Lake Michigan, thinking this was my last business venture, there was one WPDES, [Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System], permit in our county, Pagel's Ponderosa [factory farm]. You all know the rest of the story here. Along with 9 other citizens, I stopped one CAFO 2 miles located 2 miles from my business from implementing irrigation of raw manure. I am thinking that will change after his permit is up and he will be permitted in four years.

I listed my home and business for sale during the last year. While no broker, appraiser or banker would come right out and say it, my commercial property values are 2/3 of CONSTRUCTION COSTS 15 years ago because of water quality. My home has 800 ft. of Lake Michigan frontage, a small cove that fills with heaps of algae during the warm months. We are dealing with health issues in our household and want to move out of the area as quickly as possible. My partner will be leaving next month and I am staying behind to dismantle our retail business, providing an empty space for events and weddings as there are 4 acres of cultivated gardens and a lily pond on the property, all established my us. Our local government has offered no support for our situation, basically told us to shut up or leave. My hopes of actually selling either property are at 0%.

My point is, by the time we recognized, or admitted, the changes to our landscape, it was too late. My outdoor inventory gets coated with a black soot each summer from the CAFO 2 miles west. The pollution travels winds from the west, hangs up in the humid lake air, creating a haze of pollution. We smell lagoon odors virtually everyday and we our customers ask/complain about the odors; the source is two miles away! Our business has sustained extensive and expensive vandalism over the last year. Our home has been vandalized and so have vehicles left in our parking lot. The sheriffs department is completely lacking in support. Not until the water kiosk was vandalized at the high school these last couple months have they taken issues of vandalism seriously from the citizens who have spoke out against pollution issues.

Something Stinks in Wisconsin

Aerosolized manure lagoon waste in Wisconsin -
Nothing to see here, says Big Ag. Science, Wisconsin
families and communities say differently

Local Democracies, Families and Communities Are Fighting Big Ag's Industrialized Manure Waste

Wisconsin has an entire political party, (the Republicans (and a few Democrats)), who act as shills for Big Ag's annual dumping of millions of tons of hazardous waste—bacterial, viral, and parasitic fecal pathogens—into Wisconsin waters and the entire biosphere to predictable tragic consequences, (Devlin, Green Bay Press Gazette; Lundstrom, Door County Pulse; Sustain Rural Wisconsin Network; Duhigg, New York Times; Clean Water Council of Northeast Wisconsin).

Assisting Big Ag in this project are the Koch brothers which acquired the paper giant Georgia-Pacific in 2005 (Arndt, BloombergBusiness), as corporate and institutional ownership of Wisconsin forests are displacing family-owned woodlands, (Schmid, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel), clear-cutting the way for more hazardous industrialized agriculture.

The map shows increase in annual mean
surface concentration of particulate matter
resulting from ammonia emissions associated with food export.
Populated states in the Northeast and Great Lakes region,
where particulate matter formation is promoted by
upwind ammonia sources, carry most of the cost.
Manure from livestock and fertilizer for crops
release ammonia to the atmosphere.
In the air, ammonia mixes with other emissions
to form microscopic airborne particles,
or particulates
Image: NASA AQAST/Harvard University

As Adams County in central Wisconsin works locally to protect forests (Anderson, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin), Big Ag and paper giants have cast their eyes on the land, with no regard for surrounding communities and families.

Lights are blinking red among Wisconsin clean water advocates.

"While (Big) ag interests suggest it may be unfair for the county to create forest zoning to cover the communities that have no zoning laws, they don't mention the 10,000 acres of forest clear cut in the past few years near the lakes and streams that support tourism. Adams County ranks #4 in per capita tourism. This proposed zoning is a move to protect the balance of tourism and agriculture, and it needs your support. For too long, we've sat idly by as agriculture interests do the land grab. If you value the nature of our county, please attend the hearing at the Adams County Community Center on March 23rd  at 7:00 PM. You can bet the CAFO operators in New Chester and Richfield, along with their DBA, (the polluters' lobby, the Dairy Business Association), ... will be there," said Don Ystad of Adams County in an email sent this weekend.

Meanwhile Farms Not Factories emails an alert the UW-Extension Spray Irrigation of Manure Workgroup "plans to release its findings very soon and although they've promised they would hold a public hearing and solicit public comments after they compiled their final draft report, they've decided NOT to do so."

Reads the Farms Not Factories email:

In addition, they are rushing to publish the final report. Workgroup members were given the final draft on March 12 and their comments were due by March 19. Keep in mind, the Workgroup convened in 2013 and the members spent many, many hours attending meetings/reading materials/sorting through the facts. Why were they given a week to review and comment on 3 years worth of work??

While Bayfield County banned aerial spraying on manure in early 2015, Ashland County (as well as a majority of counties in Wisconsin) have not banned this form of manure disposal. If I've learned anything in the past year, it's this: Bayfield and Ashland Counties share a watershed, a shoreline and a County border and what happens in Ashland doesn't necessarily stay in Ashland.

The Workgroup members need to hear from the citizens of Wisconsin immediately, please send an email ASAP. Please write them and tell them you expect the UW-Extension Spray Irrigation of Manure Workgroup to schedule a public hearing/allow public comment on their final draft report about this controversial manure disposal practice. Why are they rushing to finalize the report before the citizens have a chance to weigh in?

Template for your email to the Spray Irrigation of Manure Workgroup

Here are the names of the Workgroup members:
Ken Genskow, UW-Madison (chair/facilitator)
Becky Larson, UW-Madison
Carrie Laboski, UW-Madison
Mark Borchardt, USDA-Ag Research Service
Andrew Craig, Wisconsin DNR
Joe Baeten, Wisconsin DNR
Pat Murphy, NRCS
Steve Struss, Wisconsin DATCP
Rob Thiboldeaux, Wisconsin DHS
Suzanne Gibbons Burgener, Wisconsin DHS
Gloria Smedema, Fond du Lac County Public Health
Sarah Grosshuesch, Adams County Public Heath
Jeff Polenske, Agronomist
Jim Vandenbrook, Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association (WLWCA)
Kenn Buelow, Dairy Farmer
Jeff Sommers, Dairy Farmer
Shelly Mayer, Dairy Farmer and Executive Director, Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin (PDPW)
Dana Cook, Professional Nutrient Applicators Association of Wisconsin (PNAAW)
Lynn Utesch

Copy and paste these email addresses of the workgroup:
kgenskow@wisc.edu, ralarson2@wisc.edu, laboski@wisc.edu, mark.borchardt@ars.usda.gov, Andrew.Craig@Wisconsin.gov, Joseph.Baeten@Wisconsin.gov, steve.struss@wisconsin.gov, Robert.thiboldeaux@dhs.wisconsin.gov, suzanne.gibbonsburgener@dhs.wisconsin.gov, sarah.grosshuesch@co.adams.wi.us, pat.murphy@wi.usda.gov, gloria.smedema@fdlco.wi.gov, Jeff@TilthAg.com, kennholsum@bugnet.net, jeff.sommers@rpespud.com, smayer@pdpw.org, danacook2000@gmail.com, lnutesch@yahoo.com, Kitty.rhoades@dhs.wisconsin.gov, Laurie.ross@wisconsin.gov

In the town of Saratoga in Wood County, the town is working against Republican-backed legislation that would "override local zoning and put the groundwater and thousands of acres of land in a single township at risk."

For some four years Saratoga residents have opposed the siting of a massive, polluting industrialized CAFO or Concentrated (Confined) Agricultural Operation by the Wysocki corporation.

When the Wysocki corporation officials did a PR gig on July 19, 2012 at a special Saratoga Town Board meeting drawing 100s of people, the local Wisconsin state representative, Scott Krug (R-Nekoosa) told a Wood County resident to "quit your bitching," (Mal Contends).

Krug is scheduled to appear at a Door County water quality hearing on March 31 with another Repulbican, (Door County Daily News). One Door County resident emails, "No, this is not [from] the Onion, the Republican legislative threats to water quality are going to explain to people how to restore the Ahnapee River. This should be good!" 

From a Saratoga January 2016 release opposing Krug-supported legislation:

SARATOGA, Wis. [January 4, 2016] – A pristine aquifer and thousands of acres of pine forest in one rural Wisconsin township are at risk if a proposal before Senate and Assembly committees makes its way through the legislative process, confirmed Attorney Paul Kent representing the Town of Saratoga in Wood County. A public hearing on SB464 is slated for 11a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 5 in Senate Hearing Room 412E while AB582 comes before the Assembly Committee on Housing and Real Estate on Thursday, Jan. 7.

These bills include a provision that would retroactively apply an expanded concept of vested rights and in so doing limit a local government’s ability to protect the property rights and health of its residents, Kent said.

The Wysocki Family of Companies has proposed siting a 5,300-cow dairy facility in the Town of Saratoga. Known as Golden Sands Dairy, it would encompass almost 6,000 acres in the Town, some 4,660 of which is managed pine forest that would be clear-cut for vegetable production. “If the proposed vested rights language passes, the original Wysocki building permit for six buildings on 98 acres could apply to thousands of additional acres in the Town,” Kent said.

“These bills are being supported by the Wysocki Family of Companies to further its attempt to override the Town’s zoning ordinance and a pending Court of Appeals decision on the scope of that zoning ordinance,” Kent said. “Wysockis would like to sweep local zoning aside so that the only remaining review of the operation would be by the Department of Natural Resources.”

“The Town’s zoning was designed to protect the area’s fragile aquifer and sandy soils and was initiated in its 2007 comprehensive plan long before Golden Sands Dairy was proposed. The problem for the Town, Kent explained, is that this area, as designated by the U.S. Geological Survey, is highly susceptible to groundwater contamination, and more than 5,000 residents depend on the quality of that groundwater. The zoning was intended to protect public health and the property rights of those residents,” he explained.

The Wysocki proposal includes application of 55 million gallons of liquid manure and 25,000 tons of solid manure annually on the 4,660 acres for vegetable production. “Manure application to that extent on those 4,660 acres will compromise the soil and the groundwater in short order,” Kent said, “and threaten more than 500 residential wells in close proximity to those fields.”

These concerns are not hypothetical. In recent months, monitoring wells at Wysocki’s Central Sands Dairy, which is sited on similar soil and located just across the Wisconsin river from Saratoga, have demonstrated nitrate levels as high as 77 parts per million (ppm), or nearly eight times the drinking water standard of 10 ppm, Kent said.

While this change would directly impact the Town of Saratoga, passage of the vested rights language in AB582/SB464 could also severely limit the ability of towns and other local governments to regulate frac sand mining and other land uses throughout the state, he said.
###

About the Town of Saratoga

A township in Wood County, Wisconsin, Saratoga is home to 5,385 residents. It is situated in the southeast corner of the county, bordering Juneau and Adams counties and includes Ten Mile Creek, Ross Lake, a portion of Nepco Lake and Five Mile Creek.  Its predominate land uses are woodlands owned by private landholders, residential subdivisions, limited agriculture (cranberry bogs), commercial developments along highways 13 and 73 and open spaces. The Town is listed on the US Geological Survey map as an area highly susceptible to groundwater contamination. The main aquifer consists of glacial sands and gravels resting approximately 20 feet below the land surface.

Petition to Stop Proposed Factory Farm in Wood County Hits 1,000 Sigs in 30 Days

A paradise under assault with Republican Party political support,
the Golden Sands of Wisconsin, protected by a diverse, large
and growing group of citizens fighting polluters and their
own government.

Updated: DNR report delayed on Saratoga mega-farm, (Anderson, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

Not a lot of people in central Wisconsin.

The region is rural and isolated.

It's also scenic with a lot of lakes and streams.

An online petition to stop the Wysocki Golden Sands industrialized factory farm proposed for Saratoga, Wisconsin has now surpassed over 1,000 signatures in 30 days.

Even as the central Wisconsin communities promote the recreational and tourism potential of the region, (Mal Contends) (Mal Contends) (Mal Contends), Republicans want to literally drain private water wells and the area surface waters with a massive number of high-capacity water wells each drawing over 100,000 gallons per day.

Insanity.

But reasoning with polluters and an industry that poisons children is not an easy proposition.

As Don Ystad, retired business consultant, resident of Rome and opponent of the Wysocki CAFO proposal wrote in 2014.
---
Governor Walker,

Think about the recent reports of the E Coli poisoning of a visiting family in Door County just a few weeks ago and the negative effect on Door County tourism if this persists. The E Coli strain was tied to cow manure, not surprising since 30% of drinking water wells are unusable because of high nitrate levels in neighboring Kewaunee County where there are 15 dairy CAFOs. This is a dangerous trend for our tourism economy, not to mention the health and well being of our citizens and visitors. As a citizen of Rome facing the possibility of an 8,000 acre, 5,130 cow dairy CAFO right next door in Saratoga, I'm concerned for our future.

Central Wisconsin Citizens Begin Petition Opposing Massive Factory Farm

The Wysocki family quietly buys up land, use it up, literally
poison their neighbors, the hell with everyone else.
These people do not live on their CAFOs; they live far-away.
And, yes, there is something sociopathic about this,
said a Saratoga, Wisconsin resident.

Citizens is central Wisconsin have begun a petition opposing a proposed massive CAFO or Concentrated (Confined) Agricultural Feeding Operation sited in the town of Saratoga in Wood County Wisconsin.

The Golden Sands Dairy is owned by the Wysocki Family of Companies (through two LLCs which insulate the Wysocki owners from liability from the expected pollution and contamination if the industrialized operations were to begin).

The Golden Sands Dairy is widely opposed and imperils a wold class golf resort in northern Adams county, property home valuations, and surface waters and acquirers in a four-county region looking for recreational and tourism investments.

Citizens have been opposing the proposed CAFO since plans were first announced in 2012.

Wisconsin Town Advocates for Water

Saratoga, Wisconsin

A central Wisconsin town, Saratoga, is a beautiful place to call home.

Now, multi-generational residents (and neighboring communities) are galvanized in protecting their homes, and their children, against the encroachment of a proposed, massive industrialized (and polluting) CAFO or Concentrated (Confined) Agricultural Feeding Operation.

Sp perverse has become the Walker administration's abandonment of clean water protection, the town of Saratoga is producing videos reminding politicians fresh, clean water is imperative for life.

This writer has lived in Wisconsin for some 50 years, and I can tell you something is qualitatively wrong and sick with Scott Walker and the Republicans who follow along.

But I can tell you something is right with the town of Saratoga.

Proposed Industrialized Farm Kills $300,000 Home Sale in Wood County

The proposed "Golden Sands" factory farm in the town of Saratoga killed the sale of a beautiful $300,000 home, a Saratoga resident reported this weekend.

Rhonda Cain-Carrell is long-time resident of Wood County and with many of her neighbors is an opponent of the proposed CAFO (Concentrated (Confined) Agricultural Feeding Operations) sited in the town of Saratoga.

Residents fear what scientific research has demonstrated: The some 50 million gallons of liquid cow manure sprayed and leeched into the environment each year would pollute the region, drive down property values, and present dangerous health hazards to residents, especially children, folks with compromised immune systems and the elderly.

Writes Cain-Carrell in her Facebook page:

This evening I spoke with a Saratoga resident that has their home up for sale. Shortly after listing the home, they received a full price offer. They accepted. The realtor disclosed a little info on the CAFO to the buyer from Illinois and [their] family backed out. Every perspective buyer LOVES the home and feels its 300K + price tag is a fair price ... BUT HAVE NO INTEREST IN LIVING NEAR THE PROPOSED GOLDEN SANDS DAIRY. Wysocki Companies, you have no right to hold our community hostage!!! GO AWAY & STAY AWAY.

Cain-Carrell, along with neighbors from Protect Wood County and Its Neighbors, Friends of the Central Sands, and Rome and Saratoga Friendly and other allies, have opposed the proposed CAFO since it was sprung onto residents in July 2012 (Mal Contends).

Informed residents say area realtors and financiers regard the area around the CAFO as a red line, and the killed sale of the residential home is just the beginning of a downward spiral.

The owner of the proposed CAFO is the Wysocki Family of Companies, (through two LLCs which insulate Wysocki from liability of the expected pollution and contamination if the factory farm were to begin operation).

Wysocki owns another CAFO, contaminating water in adjacent Juneau County (Anderson, Gannett Co News) (Mal Contends).

Wysocki doesn't live on the CAFO factory farms he owns, he's lives safely away in Custer, Wisconsin and runs operations some 20 miles away in Bancroft, Wisconsin so it's no skin off Wysocki's back if he economically and ecologically kills a region trying to make a come-back with tourism and recreation.

Wysocki is also infamous in the area for his profuse use of high capacity water wells, another 39 of which would take at least 100,000 gallons of water per well, per day to produce the liquid cow manure he wants to spray into Saratoga and the surrounding area (Mal Contends) (Mal Contends).

Wysocki is politically protected by local State Rep. Scott Krug (R-Nekoosa), Scott Walker and Walker's new polluter-friendly Dept of Natural Resources.

Krug is sponsoring a bill, Senate Bil 291, to help Wyscoki and other Big Ag operations suck up groundwater through high capacity wells and is attempting to neuter the legal recourse of Wisconsin residents and municipalities to object (Janesville Gazette) as Wisconsin Republicans play legislative games with the Wisconsin peoples' lives.

Report: Backer of Saratoga CAFO Tied to Tainted Water Wells

Citizens groups in Wood County Wisconsin and
surrounding region oppose CAFOs and
aerial liquid manure spraying. 
Photo by Martha Karris of
Rome and Saratoga-Friendly
in Wisconsin (Facebook)

Jonathan Anderson of Gannett Co news is breaking an important story reporting the owner of a proposed 5,300-head, industrialized dairy farm in southern Wood County "is coming under fire after heavily contaminated groundwater was found at another farm owned by the same company."

Reports Anderson:

'We think it’s important that the public be aware that the concerns that we’re raising are not just theoretical,' said Madison attorney Paul Kent, who represents the town of Saratoga, where the proposed mega-farm would be located. The town is opposing the farm, Kent said, at least until the company can provide assurances that groundwater will not be adversely affected.

The owner is the Wysocki Family of Companies (through two LLCs which insulate Wysocki from liability of the expected pollution and contamination if the factory farm were to begin operation).

The proposed massive CAFO (Concentrated (Confined) Agricultural Feeding Operation) is called the Golden Sands Dairy and is widely opposed, and threatens a wold class golf resort in northern Adams county in a region looking for recreational and tourism investments.

Scott Walker, and the Republican-led Wisconsin Department of Justice have "sidelined the DNR and now puts business uses of water above ordinary residential and recreational priorities, and these regulatory changes are being embedded in the law."

Scott Walker has been shameless is coordinating contributions from polluters who have shelled out massive campaign donations in return for "scaled back enforcement actions by the state Department of Natural Resources."

Notes Anderson, "The Wysocki Family of Companies did not respond to a request for comment as of press time."