Dickinson County in northwestern Iowa, by asking for a temporary moratorium on new, large-scale livestock farms, “could become the next battleground” over massive feedlots, says the Des Moines Register. Tourism is an economic driver in the county, home to large lakes lined by resort homes. The assistant Dickinson County attorney says the moratorium would allow a retooling of the state’s “master matrix” that determines appropriate sites for the facilities and improves environmental protection. The county says a surge in large livestock farms threatens the water quality of its lakes.
Iowa is the No. 1 hog state in the nation, producing a third of all U.S. hogs. There are two-thirds as many hog farms as a decade ago and they produce 33 percent more hogs, says the Register. A state senator says there are only three large feedlots in Dickinson County. A leader of the Iowa Great Lakes Association says three hog confinement farms have been proposed or built in the past 18 months. Last month, the Des Moines Water Works board voted to sue drainage districts in Buena Vista, Calhoun and Sac counties, also in northwestern Iowa, over high levels of nitrate in the Raccoon River, a source of drinking water for Iowa’s largest city.
In Wisconsin, “Environmental advocacy groups say pollution from liquified manure is one of the biggest hazards for Wisconsin’s drinking wells and waterways,” says Associated Press. Dairy industry leaders say liquid manure can be handled safely and there are state regulations on manure usage by large farms. “But critics argue accidents are becoming larger and more frequent,” says AP. State records say in 2013 and 2014 a total of 3 million gallons were spilled. There are 260 large livestock farms in the state, compared to 50 a decade ago.