Sekora 1

Alex Sekora

Social Policy

Dr. Foster

December 8, 2016

CAFOs, Farming, and Water Quality

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs, are defined by the

Environmental Protection Agency as more than 1,000 animal units confined on site for

more than 45 days during the year (USDA). An animal unit is further defined as the

animal equivalent of 1000 pounds live weight and equates to...700 dairy cows (USDA).

The consequences of any farm hosting more than 700 dairy cows in any one spot can be

devastating on the environment, unless specific precautions are taken. Those

precautions are not always taken, sometimes because of simple disregard for rules and

regulations, or because the rules and regulations that are in place are not strong enough

or not correct for the situation. This can lead to devastating effects on the environment,

especially to water sources, including streams, rivers, and groundwater. This can affect

both the animals and ecosystems, but it can also affect humans in severely negative

ways.

The problem has become increasingly prevalent in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin,

where the number of dairy cattle has grown sharply over two decades (Bergquist). In

1983, the number of dairy cattle in Kewaunee County numbered 59,800. Today, the

number is very near 100,000 (Bergquist). A good portion of these dairy cattle are

housed on 16 CAFOs spread throughout the county. Wisconsin Public Radio has said

that this number of CAFOs is a high count even compared to other rural, agriculture-

intensive counties around the state (Gordon). And just to put that into perspective, the
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human population of Kewaunee County is about 20,000. The amount of waste that is

generated by these cows is greater than that that is produced by the human population

of Milwaukee, and almost none of it is treated by sewage plants, as human waste would

be.

What makes the problem worse is that in Kewaunee County, the soil depth varies

greatly, and can sometimes be as shallow as six inches before you get to the bedrock. It

can even vary from as shallow as six inches to as much as 30 feet in one field alone

(Kitchens). The bedrock is also made up of Karst topography which lies at the top of the

Niagara Escarpment. Karst is a formation that is often made up of limestone, and is

often fractured, which allows water and other liquids to drain through. And so, when

farmers spread liquid manure on their fields, that can, depending on the level of soil

depth, leak into the groundwater (Gordon). As Lee Luft, of the Kewaunee County

Ground Water Task Force, said, When there is too much manure being applied to some

of those geologies, the potential for groundwater contamination is quite high

(Clemens). Erosion also causes runoff of agricultural waste into stream and rivers. This

runoff has contributed to growing problems in the area, which can be seen most

evidently in the bay of Green Bay. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the

bay holds a mere 1.4% of Lake Michigans water, [but] it receives one-third of the lakes

nutrient load - due largely to the farm fields that drip phosphorus-rich manure into the

streams, creeks and rivers that flow toward the bay (Egan). Numerous samples of these

waterways that were taken over the past decade show that the average phosphorus levels

can sometimes be four times what scientists say is an acceptable level (Egan). The

phosphorus contributes to algae blooms which devastate swimming beaches up and

down the coastline. The algae blooms in turn consume much of the oxygen in the bay,
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which contributes to dead zones, which are vast stretches in which almost nothing can

live (Egan).

Another problem that has started within the past decade is that peoples wells

have been getting contaminated. According to WBAY-TV, most of the countys 20,000

residents get their water from private wells (Clemens), which are not treated like public

utilities are. Back in 2010, Lynda Cochart, a resident of the town of Lincoln in northern

Kewaunee County, began getting sick, with no logical explanation. Tests over the next

four years confirmed that her well was contaminated (Schuessler). Cochart lives near

to large dairy farms, and believes that they have at least some part to play in all of it. In

early 2016, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) conducted further

tests on selected wells in the county, and found 11 that were contaminated with

salmonella and rotavirus (Roberts). And according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel,

more than one-third of wells that have been tested by various agencies and researchers

so far have failed to meet health standards for drinking water (Bergquist). As Dr.

Maureen Muldoon, a geology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh said, the

problem with when the farmers spread manure on their fields is that it happens at the

same time the groundwater recharges - early spring and fall (Muldoon). So if farmers

are spreading manure at the same time the groundwater is recharging, there is a greater

likelihood that the groundwater could be contaminated.

In an attempt to solve the problem of people not being able to use their well

water, and based on a recommendation from the Environment Protection Agency, many

farmers in the county have banded together and formed a nonprofit membership group

called Peninsula Pride Farms, which will provide bottled water to those who cannot use

their own water, pay for well inspections, and pay for most of the cost of in-home water
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treatment systems for those whose wells are contaminated. However, according to

President of the organization, Don Niles, the groups free bottled water service should

not be taken as an admission that farmers caused the widespread contamination

(Rodewald). When the organization was formed earlier this year, the WDNR, Kewaunee

County, and Peninsula Pride Farms all signed a memorandum of understanding, which

states that the program, dubbed Water Well, is not an admission of liability or

wrongdoing by any party (Rodewald). This effort is meant to be a temporary solution,

while officials can figure out longer term plans.

Another proposed solution was introduced during the last legislative session by

Representative Eric Genrich (D-Green Bay). He introduced AB637, would have

empowered the WDNR to create rules for certain areas of the state that have carbonate

bedrock, which are more susceptible to groundwater contamination from spreading

manure on land, which would directly affect Kewaunee County (Wisconsin State

Legislature). The bill would also have required the WDNR to identify the areas where

there is carbonate bedrock, including areas that have carbonate bedrock less than 50

feet from the surface of the land (Wisconsin State Legislature). According to Sean

Kennedy, a policy advisor for Rep. Genrich, the state of Minnesota has enacted a law

very similar to AB637, because they have similar problems with carbonate bedrock. The

bill would also have enacted penalties for farms that do not follow these new rules, but

the penalties would be similar to the penalties for a traffic ticket, so as not to bankrupt

farms. The bill ultimately did not pass, as it did not receive enough support from state

legislators. A problem that Robert Kovach, policy advisor for state Senator Frank Lasee,

identified was that the problem with enacting statewide laws is that this is a localised

issue, and its hard to create regulations for portions of the state that really do not need
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them (Kovach). Another problem that state legislators talked about with this issue is

that there are only three state Assemblymen and one state Senator that represent these

areas, and they have a hard time convincing the other 96 and 32 members, respectively,

to support their proposals.

Another proposed solution has been for the WDNR to create administrative rules,

which carry the force of law, but do not have to go through the state legislature. This

would give the WDNR the ability enforce stricter regulations for manure spreading on

certain areas of the state, like Kewaunee County. The process for this usually take

between three to five years, but it was recently fast tracked, so that it should now only

take about one year to come into force (Kitchens).

A large component of how I would like to solve the problem includes the

construction of anaerobic digesters. According to the Michigan Department of

Agriculture (MDA), an anaerobic digester uses a process that decomposes manure,

food waste, or any organic material to produce and collect [biogas] (MDA). The process

works similarly to how a stomach breaks down food. The biogas that is produced is a

mixture of methane and carbon dioxide. The methane can then be used to run an engine

that produces electricity, which reduces dependence on fossil fuels. After the manure is

broken down inside the digester, the leftover material is then separated into solids and

liquids. The liquids are taken and spread on the fields as fertilizer. But this is a better

option than straight manure, because the liquid that comes out of the digester are in a

form which is much more readily available for plant uptake. The increased plant uptake

also reduces the possibility of nutrient run-off into surface waters (MDA). The liquid

also has less phosphorus making land application easier and more environmentally

friendly (MDA). In turn, the solid material that is leftover from the digestion process
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can be used for animal bedding or composted and sold as a high-quality soil

amendment. The [solids] can also be used to create composite building materials

(MDA).

An example of an anaerobic digester is at Pagels Ponderosa Dairy farm, located

midway between the village of Luxemburg and the city of Kewaunee in Kewaunee

County, Wisconsin. They are the largest family-owned dairy farm in the state, milking

over 5,000 cows. In 2008, they decided to build an anaerobic digester on their property,

in part because the benefits that were mentioned before, and because the local power

company, Wisconsin Public Service, was giving farms generous incentives to build them

because the federal government was requiring the power companies to get more energy

from renewable resources (Pagel). The digester that they initially installed produced

800 kilowatts, but within three short years they upgraded to a 1.6 megawatt generator to

accommodate larger herd sizes as well as potential for continued growth of the farm

(Renew Wisconsin). The amount of energy the digester produces is enough to power the

farm, and also the communities of Kewaunee and Casco, with populations of 2,952 and

583, respectively (Renew Wisconsin). Another benefit that farm owner John Pagel really

enjoyed, is that the digester eliminates about 95 percent of the odors that would

normally come from the manure (Pagel). He described the odor reduction as being a

benefit not only for them and their farm, but for their neighbors as well.

Now, about two weeks after I decided that I was going to recommend the

installation of anaerobic digesters on farms in the county, the state of Wisconsin decided

to pursue installing a large digester in Kewaunee County and other areas of the state

affected by groundwater contamination. Governor Scott Walker estimates that their

digester, which will be countywide for any farm to use, will cost between $10 million and
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$20 million, and would be partially funded by farms (Clemens). The difference

between their plan and my plan, is that I would provide incentives for the larger CAFOs

to build their own anaerobic digesters, while still building a countywide one or two for

the smaller farms to use. I envision my plan using a combination of tax credits over a

period of year, and direct reimbursements for a portion of the cost of construction and

installation. According to the MDA, depending on the type and size of the system, it can

cost anywhere between $150 to $500 per dairy cow or $80 to $300 per swine (MDA).

Pagels Ponderosa Dairy Farm received a total of $1,599,538 in incentives from the

Wisconsin Public Service Renewable Energy Advantage Program, a Wisconsin Focus on

Energy Program, and a 1603 Program reimbursement from the United States

Department of the Treasury (Renew Wisconsin). I was not able to find exactly how

much it cost them to install the system, but by using the estimate from the MDA, I was

able to estimate that it would have cost $2.5 million. Roughly half was paid for by

incentives, and is continually being paid off in benefits like not having to purchase

bedding or electricity, and being able to sell the excess electricity back to the power

company. I feel that this program could be adequately managed by the state Department

of Natural Resources.

Another thing that I would do would be to start an education campaign for

farmers, with the state Department of Natural Resources educating farmers about

proper manure spreading techniques, and discussing precautions they should take

based on the environmental conditions that are present in their area. A part of this

campaign would also encourage farmers to utilize cover crops. Cover crops are crops

that are planted after the harvest season and can help protect soil from [erosion] and

runoff, reduce surface crusting, and add active organic material to soil (Cornell
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University). Cover crops are also something that Pagels Ponderosa Dairy farm has had

some recent success with.

Ultimately, the potential outcomes of these programs would be that there would

be less groundwater contamination, which would allow local residents to again use their

wells. It could also help the environment by cleaning up streams and waterways, and

help to reduce the amount of algae blooms that are causing the large dead zone in the

bay of Green Bay. This would benefit not only the plants and animals that need these

ecosystems to survive, but could also benefit sportsmen, by increasing the amount of

wildlife where they fish and hunt.

By instituting programs like constructing anaerobic digesters and educating

farmers about manure spreading and environmental risks, I believe we can help restore

our groundwater, and protect and preserve the environment for years to come.
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Works Cited

Bergquist, Lee. "One-third of Wells in Kewaunee County Unsafe for Drinking Water."

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Gannett Company, December 21, 2015. Web.

December 1, 2016.

Clemens, Michelle. "Some Questioning Regulations After Kewaunee County Water

Issues." WBAY. Young Broadcasting, October 28, 2016. Web. December 1, 2016.

Clemens, Michelle. "State Plans to Help Fix Kewaunee County Water Issues." WBAY.

Young Broadcasting, November 17, 2016. Web. December 3, 2016.

Egan, Dan. "Changes in America's Dairyland Foul the Waters of Green Bay." Milwaukee

Journal-Sentinel. Gannett Company, September 13, 2014. Web. December 5,

2016.

"Frequently Asked Questions About Anaerobic Digesters." Michigan Department of

Agriculture. State of Michigan. Web. December 3, 2016.

Genrich, Eric. "Wisconsin Legislature: AB637." Wisconsin State Legislature. State of

Wisconsin, January 7, 2016. Web. November 20, 2016.

Gordon, Scott. "Why Kewaunee County Is A Flashpoint For CAFOs And Water Quality."

Wisconsin Public Radio. July 1, 2016. Web. November 29, 2016.

Jacque, Representative Andre. Personal interview. November 15, 2016.

Kennedy, Sean. Personal interview. November 17, 2016.

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Kitchens, Representative Joel. Personal interview. November 16, 2016

Kovach, Robert. Personal interview. November 8, 2016.

Muldoon, Dr. Maureen. Personal interview. November 11, 2016.

"Natural Resources Conservation Service." Natural Resources Conservation Service.

United States Department of Agriculture. Web. December 4, 2016.

Pagel, John. Personal interview. November 23, 2016.

Roberts, Rhonda. "DNR: Salmonella, Bovine Rotavirus Found in Some Kewaunee

County Wells." WBAY. Young Broadcasting, May 5, 2016. Web. November 22,

2016.

Rodewald, Adam. "Kewaunee County Farmers to Pay for Clean Water." Green Bay

Press-Gazette. Gannett Company, September 7, 2016. Web. November 25, 2016.

Schuessler, Ryan. "Something's in the Water in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin." Al

Jazeera America. Al Jazeera America, November 13, 2015. Web. November 15,

2016.

"Why Use Cover Crops in Vegetable Rotations." College of Agriculture and Life

Sciences. Cornell University. Web. December 1, 2016.

"Wisconsins Largest Family-Owned Dairy Converts Manure into Useful Energy for the

Farm and Surrounding Communities." Renew Wisconsin. Web. December 2,

2016.