DATE: December 7, 2005

WFC’s overriding concern is to ensure Wisconsin remains in the top two states for dairy production. You know well the challenges we in the dairy industry have faced as we have witnessed an average of three dairy operations leaving the industry daily. This had led to our cooperative milk processing plants operating at less than full capacity. Of course, the shortage of milk has had a substantial impact on the economies of local areas where plants have been closed and on the state’s overall economy as well.

We are committed to keeping Wisconsin as the nation’s leading cheese producer. We were very pleased the Legislature joined us in this commitment by enacting the Dairy Investment Tax Credit, a law that has already encouraged at least $120 million in reinvestment by dairy producers in their operations. However, we also know that our ability to modernize is effected greatly by state and local environmental and land use regulations. For this reason, we were very pleased as well last session when you enacted the state’s new Livestock Siting Statute. That law was initiated by organizations motivated to strengthen the future for the Wisconsin livestock industry by bringing greater uniformity and predictability to the government regulation of this industry. WFC and its cooperative members were pleased to be an early and consistent supporter of the legislation that became 2003 Wisconsin Act 235 and we were particularly heartened by the broad cross section of agriculture and government policy-makers that were leading and supporting the legislative effort.

WFC again indicates our appreciation for the efforts you and other Wisconsin policy and agriculture leaders are making to ensure that the rule does what was intended by Act 235. As you may know, WFC submitted recommendations to DATCP in early April, 2005 on the proposed rule and our letter raised some concerns regarding some of the proposed provisions. However we were impressed with the willingness of DATCP leadership to make many positive changes to the Rule in response to stakeholder input. Setback requirements, odor standards, runoff standards and numerous other important aspects of the rule proposal were changed to acknowledge the valued input of farmers who appeared in huge numbers at the public hearings. One of the most important step in our view was the testing of the odor scoring at farms, both currently WPDES-permitted and those volunteered by organizations. This resulted in rule changes that will help assure that 90-percent or more of the farms that face siting approval obtain passing scores and this change is vital to the future of our state’s dairy industry.

Other changes we support include:

This last provision enhancement is key because the viability of our state’s dairy industry depends in large part on whether modernizing dairy producers believe they will participate in a predictable review process that makes clear what is to be expected of them. This predictability allows dairy producers to determine whether or not they can meet the necessary standards before they invest their time and capital into the modernization project. This predictability will give Wisconsin a significant advantage over other states in modernizing our dairy industry because this predictability is missing in many other states.

The rule is not perfect and, yet, we caution the Committees to not let “perfect” be the enemy of “good.” The proposed odor provisions have been little tested and need to be closely monitored to ensure they are not acting to hinder, rather than to support, the modernization of a financially healthy and environmentally friendly dairy industry. Moreover, we question the distinction in the odor standard exemption based on the number of animal units for new and expanding operations.

Once again, WFC’s priority objective is to ensure Wisconsin maintains its status and reputation as “America’s Dairyland” by creating an environment that encourages new and expanding livestock operations. While we are aware that there are some who believe that the rule before you falls short of attaining the goals spelled out in Act 235, we have not been convinced that the rule referred to your committees will jeopardize positive siting decisions by existing or newly-locating producers, nor will it endanger the valued and necessary investments in the dairy and other livestock industries so necessary for a healthy livestock sector. We believe that the Livestock Facility Siting Review Board (LFSRB) can play a key role when an “aggrieved” party results from a siting decision outcome, although only experience will show how often this step is utilized.

When the DATCP Board unanimously advanced the rule to the legislature, they added process steps that are going to help ensure that their citizen board knows just what impact the rule is having. We understand the rule will be monitored closely, including DATCP staff providing the Board monthly activity reports on rule implementation. We think this close monitoring is necessary and desirable from everyone’s perspective. Furthermore, DATCP has committed to odor research and a vigorous training and outreach effort. We are confident these, along with other steps, will ensure the rule follows the intent of Act 235.

WFC appreciates the hard work you and others have done to advocate for dairy and other livestock industries and to advance legislation during the previous and existing legislative sessions to strengthen Wisconsin’s diverse agricultural sector. We applaud your efforts and we hope you too believe that “the best is yet to come” for Wisconsin’s agriculture.

Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments on behalf of the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives at today’s hearing.

TOP