The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources today approved a wastewater discharge permit for Rosendale Dairy.

The permit will allow the owners to increase the size of the herd from fewer than 700 cows to 4,000.

A second expansion is planned to expand operations to 8,000 cows, which DNR officials said would make Rosendale the largest dairy farm in the state.

The large-scale operations has drawn criticism from some local residents and officials who fear the manure will harm the groundwater. Opponents also raised concerns about the odor and increased traffic from milk and supply trucks and farm machinery moving in and out of the farm.

Wisconsin Farmers Union President Sue Beitlich issued a statement expressing her disappointment in the DNR's approval of the permits for the Rosendale Dairy expansion.

“I am extremely disappointed that plans to expand the Rosendale Dairy have been approved. We have yet to fully understand the environmental and economic ramifications of a CAFO of this size. The groundwater contamination and air pollution produced by Rosendale will be unprecedented in Wisconsin. When Rosendale’s plans are complete, it will produce 75 million gallons of manure per year and match the waste produced by the city of Green Bay.”

“While Wisconsin’s family farmers are facing rock-bottom milk prices as a result of a milk surplus, this operation plans to milk another 7,000 cows. The demands on the local infrastructure as well as the strain on the dairy industry caused by the Rosendale CAFO have not yet been thoroughly examined. Dairy plants are flush with milk right now and most are not accepting new patrons. A dairy of this size could displace our family farmers who have been farming and raising their family for several generations on their farm, who have been mindful of our environment and who have been an active part of their local community,” Beitlich continued. “This is not a positive move for Wisconsin’s dairy industry nor for our economy.”

Further details will be published as they become available.