Proposed changes to certain administrative rules in the state of Wisconsin could have a major impact on on dairy farms at a challenging time for dairy markets, the Dairy Business Association has said.
The organisation accused state departments of “piling new regulations on a small number of already regulated farms”.
“Even during a period of good prices, our state has consistently seen the number of dairy farms decline. The steady trickle of farm sales and retirements has grown, and sustained low prices could turn the trickle into a flood.
“This is no time for expensive amendments to administrative rules. Yet, we know the Department of Trade, Agriculture and Consumer Protection has announced its desire to amend ATCP 51, the livestock siting rule. The agency’s work on those revisions is ongoing,” the organisation said in a statement.
In addition, the Department of Natural Resources sent two scope statements that would reopen NR 151 (runoff management rule) and NR 243 (the CAFO, or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, rule) to the governor’s office.
The DBA said drafts of changes to the two rules were vague and ill-defined.
Source: The Dairy Site
