In the December 11, 2025 Midwest Farm Report article entitled “Local Ordinances Create ‘Unattainable Goals’ for Farmers,” Brad Olson complains about Wisconsin town ordinances regulating CAFO.
Olson resorts to the tried-and-true “us against them routine,” claiming that towns are “targeting” the farming community. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, many of the local residents seeking protection from the devastating damage that CAFOs can cause are farmers. It’s not the farming community that is the issue; it is the corporate agricultural entities that are interested only in profits and not in the well-being of their neighbors. The concept of “neighbors” is an important one. My experience is that most of us in northwestern Wisconsin do not care what our neighbors do on their property. What we do care about, however, is if activity on a neighbor’s property is going to destroy our property.
The ordinances that have been enacted by the half a dozen or so towns in northwestern Wisconsin are designed to protect health, safety and property values. They are based on solid research that shows the contaminants in livestock manure, such as phosphates, nitrates and E. coli, contaminate surface waters, groundwater and, ultimately, our wells. Research shows that particulates given off by CAFOs cause respiratory problems, and that properties located near CAFO’s can lose more than 80% of their value! A May 10, 2021 article in the Washington Post, by Sarah Kaplan, reported that in North Carolina, “air pollution from Duplin County farms is linked to roughly 98 premature deaths per year, 89 of which are linked to emissions directly caused by hogs.” 17,000 annual deaths are attributable to pollution from farms across United States, with the worst offenders being animal agriculture.
If corporate farms want to expand their business that’s great. But don’t destroy my property or my health just so that you can make more money.
And farmers are not at risk of being targeted by nuisance lawsuits. There is already a Wisconsin statute (§823.08) that protects agricultural entities from such actions. Significantly, that statute does not equally protect landowners that have been damaged by CAFOs.
Olson argues that local ordinances regulating CAFO as are bad for Wisconsin taxpayers and bad for American taxpayers. He doesn’t say why. In Kansas alone, remediation from leaching under dairy and hog CAFO’s has been projected to cost taxpayers $56 million! The rough estimate of the total cost of cleaning up the soil under US hog and dairy CAFOs could approach $4.1 billion. That is bad for Wisconsin taxpayers and the American taxpayers.
Very truly yours,
Andrew L. Marshall
Even though it’s freezing outside, we are keeping an eye on things for you. Thanks again for all your support. Stay warm.
The KnowCAFOs Team