By Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Mar. 2, 2009

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has approved plans to
let a dairy farm move forward with a controversial expansion that
could lead to it becoming the largest in the state.

Rosendale Dairy will be allowed to expand from nearly 700 cows to
4,000 cows in the Town of Rosendale in western Fond du Lac County.

A second phase of the farm could double the size of the herd to 8,000
cows.

The DNR approved the farm’s request for a wastewater permit late
Friday afternoon. Representatives of Rosendale issued a news release
Monday saying it received the permit.

In the first phase, cattle from the farm will produce 46 million
gallons of liquid waste, most of it manure, each year.

The DNR is requiring Rosendale to take additional steps because of the
large amounts of manure it plans to spread on local farm fields. They
include:

Monitoring wells must be drilled near manure storage facilities and
other sites; water will have to be tested for the presence of manure
near drain tiles; and manure spreading will be restricted to no closer
than 200 feet from a private well.
Second phase separate

At this point, Rosendale will have to come back to the DNR for
permission to expand the herd above 4,000 cows.

Jim Ostrom, one of the owners of the dairy, said he was generally
pleased by the decision but was reviewing details of the added
requirements.

“We are beginning the process of daily performance where we need to
prove to our opponents that we can operate in an environmentally sound
manner,” Ostrom said.

Rosendale’s expansion has angered some local residents and officials
who are fearful that manure from the farm will harm the groundwater.

Opponents also raised concerns about the odor and increased traffic
congestion from trucks and farm machinery moving in and out of the
farm.

Peter McKeever, an attorney for opponents of the farm, said he was
disappointed, and that the decision underscored a growing trend in
which the DNR appears to favor private interests over public
interests.

McKeever said he was still reviewing the specifics of the permit and
had not decided whether opponents might challenge it.

DNR officials have said the permit for Rosendale has been the most
heavily scrutinized in the agency’s history.

The entire expansion is expected to cost $70 million.

Rosendale said that each year it will spend $32 million on local
contractors and vendors.