Western Wisconsin town passes ordinance regulating operations of large farms

A western Wisconsin town has passed an ordinance that would regulate the operations of large livestock farms.

The Isabelle town board in Pierce County passed an operations ordinance Monday night for concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs. Those farms have at least 1,000 animal units or the equivalent of 700 milking cows.

Isabelle’s ordinance requires a CAFO owner locating within the town to obtain an operations permit and pay an application fee. The owner would also be required to share various plans to manage waste, air pollution, carcass disposal, road maintenance and fire safety, as well as how to prevent the spread of disease and damage to nearby waterways. 

Large farms located outside the town that spread waste within Isabelle’s limits would be required to submit fewer plans, such as those handling waste and disposal of dead animals.

The ordinance comes as Ridge Breeze Dairy — a 1,700-cow dairy farm in Pierce County — plans to expand in a nearby town. Residents there are challenging the state’s approval of those plans. No CAFOs currently operate within the town of Isabelle.

The town of Isabelle joins three Wisconsin counties and eight towns that have passed CAFO operations ordinances.

Town leaders and residents have said they want to protect the environment, public health and safety. The ordinance states the town is vulnerable to pollution of its groundwater from nitrates.

A 2024 report found 14 percent of wells tested in Pierce County exceeded the federal drinking water standard for nitrates. In the town, the ordinance states nine of 52 wells tested had unsafe nitrate levels, noting that 90 percent of nitrate contamination is tied to agriculture in Wisconsin.

Farm groups like the Dairy Business Association and Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation have said costly operations ordinances threaten to force out family farms.

They say Wisconsin already has strict environmental standards for large farms, adding local ordinances create a patchwork of regulations for the state’s  $116 billion ag industry.

Operations ordinances for CAFOs have faced legal challenges in recent years from the legal arm of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, which is the state’s largest business group.

The towns of Rock Elm and Gilman are also exploring operations ordinances for large farms.