The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard’s Dairyman.

The ordinance is almost identical to the CAFO ordinance enacted in the town of Laketown which is now subject to litigation brought by the WMC Litigation Center on behalf of local farmers.

“Town boards are taking the Laketown ordinance and using it as a template to enact the same unlawful, anti-agriculture ordinances on their farmers. We’ve tried to combat the anti-farming activist narrative by presenting facts and participating in numerous public hearings, just to be ignored. Enough is enough. That is why we worked closely with the WMC Litigation Center to challenge this exact type of ordinance,” said Cindy Leitner, President of Wisconsin Dairy Alliance.

“Our members stand against this attempt to creatively skirt state law and enact policy that will ensure no farm will be able to grow. Eliminating a business plan option for generational family farms, and negatively affecting the future value of their equity, which is often times their retirement plan, is unfair to your local farmers. Piling on a parallel regulatory scheme alongside the State’s makes expansion out of the question. So, if the goal of this Board is to tell farmers to “get out” if their business plan is to grow and expand, then tell us that that is your goal. Be clear about your intention as it relates to agriculture so your farmer-constituents know where you stand,” said Kim Bremmer, Executive Director of Venture Dairy Cooperative.

“We encourage our members and farmers generally to stay alert as to what is occurring at their town board and reach out to us with any concerns,” continued Bremmer.

The Town of Luck will have to work to create an application process for the ordinance. VDC and WDA will continue to monitor these ordinances.