The five-plus year dispute between the developers of the proposed Golden Sands Dairy in Saratoga and their local township will soon be heard by the state’s highest court. Wisconsin Supreme Court justices recently issued a notice stating they will take the case after the Wysocki Family of Companies submitted legal documents to overturn an April 2017 decision by the District IV Court of Appeals that stated the farm would not be able to use more than 6,000 acres of nearby land for manure spreading or other agricultural purposes because of a local ordinance instituted by the town board.
The dairy wants to house 5,300 animals on the site, which would generate 55 million gallons of liquid manure and another 25,000 tons of solid waste each year. But neighbors are concerned that the manure would contaminate local drinking water and increase traffic on their local roads.
As Wisconsin Ag Connection reported earlier this year, the appeals court essentially overturned an earlier ruling by the Wood County Circuit Court that would have allowed the dairy to use more than the original 100 acres that its buildings would sit on for planting crops and disposing animal waste.
The verdict was just the latest in a string of attempts by locals to kill the proposed farm. Last fall, supervisors in the town passed the ordinance that would enforce new regulations on manure spreading in order to protect groundwater contamination; and also approved a separate policy that would regulating the storage of solid manure.
The Wysocki Family of Companies first unveiled its plans for the dairy in 2012. That’s when the dispute between the farm and its neighbors led to a lawsuit, which the Wysockis won in court. However, the town filed an appeal, claiming the farm should not have been granted the necessary building and operating permits.
The Wysockis also own the Central Sands Dairy in Adams County and an 8,400-acre potato and vegetable operation in Portage County.
Source: Wisconsin Ag Connection
