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Letter to the Editor: What Is Our Future Vision for Farming?

Recently I had a great opportunity to attend a program sponsored by the Door County Environmental Council titled “Addressing Drinking Water Impact from Industrial Animal Agriculture.” The speaker was excellent and very informative, taking an important look at the environmental impact of this industry, which is second only to the burning of fossil fuels in contributing to greenhouse gases. The presentation certainly gave us all a lot to think about and stimulated discussions among the attendees. As I learn more about the activities and concerns with the farmers in Door and Kewaunee Counties it is apparent to me that despite differences there is a very strong sense of loyalty among fellow farmers and neighbors. This sense of community is a very important part of what makes us strong.

There is a concern that CAFOs and mega dairy farms have forced small farms out of business and impacted the vitality of small farm towns. Some of the smaller farmers apparently help pay the bills by renting their acres of land for manure dispersal, and it is a fact that there is more manure being generated and not sufficient places to get rid of that manure. It is clear that this manure problem is causing contaminated wells and damaging our clean water supply, impacting human health and all other life forms, and the spraying of liquid manure affects air quality. Additional concerns include overuse of antibiotics and hormones impacting the quality of our food products.

Large industrial farms are a part of our agricultural community and I believe we all want our Wisconsin farms to thrive, but I feel that we need to be setting limits to any further expansion of industrial animal farms, and have a goal to move toward returning these animals to the pastures. Maybe farms should only be as large as the amount of manure they can actually use. As I drive by these large farms I see big, tidy looking structures, often decorated with barn quilts, and surrounded by grass fields, but not an animal in sight. We need to keep human health and animal welfare as priorities, and consider what is best for the animals being subjected to our decisions. We all need clean air and water, and we need to share a hopeful vision for the future.

Many thanks to the DCEC for continuing to help educate and inform. Our future depends on a well informed electorate and citizen  participation.

 

Roberta Thelen

Baileys Harbor, Wis.

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