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DAIRY ST R
Volume 24, No. 7
CommiƩee proposes law to limit animal agriculture
“All dairy, all the time”™
May 28, 2022
Hit without warning
Townships adopt CAFO ordinances in Polk, Burnett counties By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
LUCK, Wis. – Five townships in northern Polk County and one township in southern Burnett County are regulating farms operating as concentrated animal feeding operations. Town board representatives from Bone Lake Township in Polk County listened to a presentation of a proposed ordinance and heard from the owners of a dairy farm operating as a CAFO in a neighboring township at a meeting May 19. The proposed ordinance was created by the Large Livestock Partnership Committee which is comprised of six members, one appointed by each of the townships of Bone Lake, Eureka, Laketown, Luck and Sterling in Polk County and the township of Trade Lake in Burnett County. Each township committed up to $3,000 to the committee for developing the ordinance. “All six committee members making these rules basically have no animal agriculture experience and all have a long history of anti-agriculture activism. None earn their living from agriculture,” Brad Olson said. “Their activism is apparent. They look to no other sources of pollution beyond agriculture. When you ask who will feed the world, they have no answers.” Olson milks 40 cows in the Clam Falls Township in Polk County. Olson is a 15year veteran of his town board and is starting his fourth term on the Polk County Board. Wisconsin CAFO regulations dene a CAFO as 1,000 animal units, with an animal unit being 1,000 pounds of live body weight, which is typically thought to encompass 700 dairy cows. In order to learn more about the state’s required permitting process and how a large family dairy farm operates, the town board invited Roger and Brandon Owens, of Owens Farms Inc., a 750-cow dairy farm located in nearby Lorain Township. The Owens family have farmed in Polk County since 1912. Today, the 1,600-acre farm is owned and operated by eight members of the family with several other family members, and six non-family employees, working on the farm. Owens Farms, Inc. obtained their rst
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PHOTO SUBMITTED
Two silos were knocked to the ground and the old dairy barn and Harvestore sustained signicant damage from the March 5 tornado that hit the Amera farm near Stoughton, Wisconsin. The 60-cow herd has since been relocated to a neighboring dairy farm.
Ameras rebuild after being struck by March tornado By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
STOUGHTON, Wis. – James and Callie Amera lost a lot recently, but they are not giving up. A tornado tore through their farm on the evening of March 5 leaving massive destruction in its wake. Despite its F-1 rating, the tornado was packed with fury and left nearly nothing untouched. A total of 18 structures were damaged – 11 of which were totaled. But with the grit to keep going, the Ameras are putting their farm back together. “We’re lucky we are still able to live here,” James said. “It could’ve been worse. We could’ve lost the house and had to be looking for personal belongings on top of everything else.” The Ameras milk 60 cows and farm 650 acres near Stoughton. They also have 100 beef cow/calf pairs and sell corn, soybeans and wheat. Their farm is split in half by the road, and on the side James and Callie live on, nearly the only thing left intact is their house. The
tornado blew out the back wall on their sunporch and also required the Ameras to get a new roof and siding. A couple windows and porch railings also had to be replaced. The damage was minor compared to what the rest of the farm endured. “We were only under a severe thunderstorm watch,” Callie said. “It happened so fast they couldn’t warn us. This was the rst tornado of the year in Wisconsin.” Just before 10 p.m., the Ameras were in their bedroom with their 2-yearold daughter, Ellie, after the power had gone out. A few minutes later, the tornado arrived. “It was really windy and it kept getting worse,” James said. “The windows were bowing in and out, and the front window busted from the pressure of everything. Bedroom doors started slamming shut, and a board from the barn came ying in through the front door and landed by our bedroom. We hid in a closet for a minute because we didn’t think it was a tornado; we just thought it was a lot of wind. Then we decided to go to the basement.” The farm took a direct hit, and they estimate the tornado was on the ground for about ve minutes. After the storm passed, the Ameras went outside to assess the damage using spotlights to help
them see. The cattle were their biggest concern as they started up the generators. “The tornado took out all of our electrical, and we were without power for ve days,” James said. The next morning, they awoke to the true brunt of the chaos now visible in the daylight. That day, they were also greeted with snow. “It was pretty hard seeing the damage,” Callie said. “It made me sick to my stomach. There were a lot of tears and everything was such a mess. We didn’t know where to start. It was overwhelming.” James agreed. “Everywhere you turned, there was something, and we thought, ‘How are we going to get all this cleaned up?’” he said. “There was a lot to do, but we knew we had to concentrate on the cows. That’s our monthly income, and we have to make sure it keeps going.” The tornado took down two grain bins, two silos, two tobacco sheds, calf hutches, a storage shed and a building for youngstock. The freestall barn, walkway, dairy barn, shop and Harvestore silo were also hit hard but able to be salvaged. The tornado also ripped off
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