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Supporters turn out for Larson Acres

EVANSVILLE — Nearly 30 people—many of them with vested interests in Larson Acres' expansion—spoke in favor of the dairy's plans to double its herd at a hearing Tuesday, while three people expressed concerns over the project.

About 225 people attended the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources open house Tuesday night at Evansville High School, followed by a presentation by Mike Larson on the farm's expansion plans and a public hearing.

Larson spoke of the quality, pride and family virtues that go into the fifth-generation family farm in Magnolia Township throughout his Power Point presentation. He detailed the farm's $12.8 million expansion that would double its herd to 5,275 animals between the farms on Highway 59 and County B.

Larson addressed odor, traffic and water quality concerns, saying additional technology will decrease the amount of odor despite the increase in cows, along with no new liquid manure storage.

State permits require zero discharge to ensure water quality, he said, and other area wells will not dry up because the farm ties into a continuously recharging aquifer.

Many of the expansion's benefits that Larson listed were reiterated often by the collection of veterinarians, agronomists, professors, farmers, consultants and other professionals from the agriculture industry who spoke in support of the farm.

Several speakers told of their decades of work with the farm and the Larson family, offering examples of the farm's quality and commitment to the community and the industry's future.

Gordon Speirs, a dairy farmer in eastern Wisconsin originally from Canada, said he had toured the Larson Acres facility for the first time in 2002.

"Mike … you made me a better dairy farmer," he said. "I decided that day if I wanted to be a cow, I'd want to live in your barn."

Dr. Fred Ehle of Nutrition Professionals, an independent dairy consulting firm, has worked with the farm for the last 25 years, he said.

"Larson Acres, they're truly good stewards of cows, of the land and the environment," he said.

He explained the testing and custom supplements designed for the needs of different cows so no animal has nutritional excess or deficiency issues.

"I would hazard a guess that probably the cows at Larson Acres are fed better than 99 percent of the people's diets in this room," he said.

Local resident Tom Boswell, however, called for a real public hearing, one where the speakers weren't drawing a paycheck from Larson Acres.

He expressed concerns over groundwater, echoed by two other speakers—Tony Ends and Peter McKeever. The trio called on the DNR to complete an environmental impact study. The DNR's environmental assessment states that the impact study is not needed.

Ends called on Larson, sitting in the audience, and spoke directly to him, saying he holds nothing against the Larson family, but that the issue comes down to drinking water.

"I know you're trying to do the best you can," he said, but Ends and the neighbors he represented said they want the additional study and assurances that their groundwater will be protected. He pointed to tests and expert testimony that showed high nitrate levels in Allen Creek near the County B farm.

"We want to see impartial and objective testing of the water," he said.

Ends and his neighbors, along with the town board, have battled with Larson Acres in court for years, with one case over a permit for the farm pending in appeals court.

Larson and many speakers pointed out the strict regulations farms of the proposed size must meet, including more than a dozen permits from the town, county and state.

The DNR will continue collecting written statements from the public through Monday.