Waste overload?

The number of cows in Brown County has held steady for 50 years. While their production skyrocketed, the amount of cropland to spread their waste on was devoured by urban sprawl, as the 2011 Life Study report from the Brown County Soil and Water Conservation Department showed.

0

Number of farms with 1,000 or more cattle in 1984 in Brown and Kewaunee County

35

Number of such farms today

2,672

Number of farms in Brown County in 1954

1,053

Number of farms in Brown County in 2008

300,900

Acres of cropland in Brown County in 1954

162,000

Acres of cropland in Brown County in 2008

2

Acres of cropland recommended for spreading manure for each animal unit

80,000

Animal units on farms in Brown County

106,920

Acres of spreadable cropland in Brown County

45.7

Percent of phosphorous loading in the Lower Fox River Basin that comes from agricultural sources

Source: Brown County Soil and Water Conservation Department