CAFO: Preparing for the Fight

These are the Amish boys taking the cows to the neighbors to breed. They walk on the road to get there. The same road which will see a huge increase in truck traffic if the factory farm is approved. The Amish families going up the driveway for church. Some ride in the wagons and some walk behind. Either way it's dangerous with an increase in traffic on our quiet road.

Last night after work we went to get out taxes done. Yea! We don't have to pay! At least that was good news. I'll take it where I can get it now.

So yesterday, I was a little down in the dumps (to say the least) about the farm. I still am, but my "fight" is coming out now. We joined an organization called the Valley Stewardship Network yesterday. They are fighting against CAFO's in Vernon County. I'm already on the email list for the Crawford Stewardship Project which was instrumental in fighting the power company that wanted to take family farms for a dump to store the waste products from coal in our area. Today I am going to start writing our representatives up in Wisconsin. It is frustrating not being there when this is going on. If we were up there I would be holding meetings at our farm. I really feel that everyone's effort needs to be there 100%. I am not that great with discussing things at any length right now due to my "word finding" issues, but I could sure put myself to good use in some other way.

It has always been in the back of our minds that this could happen. Pretty much our worst fear. My second worse is a cell tower being erected close by. So far that hasn't happened.

Here is a link to an organization Wisconsin CAFO Watch. They have some good articles on the problems with factory farms. Another link to a petition site which you can sign and say why you think it isn't a good idea to have CAFO's. Their goal is 2,000 signatures. They have over 300 now. Please take the time to sign it if you can.

The last time (2007) this happened wasn't near our farm (but in our county) there were meetings being held in town to get the information out from both sides. Farmers drove their tractors to the one meeting when we were in town. We heard about the meeting through others that attended. The agricultural industries were scaring some of the farmers saying that all their rights would be taken away if the board voted against the factory farm. They said that it would leave the door open for non-farmers to "regulate" everything they did on their farm. See the link here for the article proclaiming victory for the hog farm that got approval.

So even though we want to be positive about the outcome and about being on the right side of this issue, the ability to fight anything agricultural is an uphill battle in Wisconsin.

So well-meaning farmers who are perhaps just not educated about the horrors of factory farms and the harm it causes to their livelihood will choose to fight for the CAFO. My hope is that what has happened lately with Wall Street and the banking industry has shown people that "big" doesn't have anything to do with honesty and caring about the "little guy".

Fight on...