After months of delay, and several year’s worth of hearings on countless irrelevant issues before the Town of Magnolia, today the Wisconsin Livestock Facility Siting Review Board members reversed all of the improper and unlawful conditions imposed by the Town on Larson Acres’ heifer facility.  In doing so, the Livestock Facility Siting Review Board granted Larson Acres full relief in its appeal to that Board.

The Dairy Business Association recognizes and thanks the hard work of Kathy Pielsticker, Administrator-Agricultural Resource Management, Dave Jelinski, Director- Bureau of Land and Water Services and Jim Matson-Senior Legal Consultant, all from the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Agency (DATCP) for their leadership in filing an amicus brief to the Livestock Facility Siting Review Board on behalf of the agency.  “Wisconsin’s Secretary of Agriculture, Rod Nilsestuen and his team at DATCP should be commended on their commitment towards growing the Wisconsin Dairy Industry,” Laurie Fischer, Executive Director of the Dairy Business Association stated.

“The Larson family’s journey to obtain a building permit in the Town of Magnolia has taken years and hundreds of thousands of dollars because the Town violated numerous procedural and substantive rules prescribed by the state livestock facility siting standards as set forth in the statute.  DBA applauds the Larson family for staying the course so that future dairy producers in this state will have an opportunity to grow and modernize their dairy operations,” said Fischer.

Prior to the adoption of the state siting law, livestock operations faced a patchwork of confusing local regulations, which were frequently applied in a subjective and unpredictable manner by local governments.  The purpose of the new state siting law was to ensure that livestock operations would be regulated according to clear, objective and uniform standards, which balanced the interests of local communities, livestock operators and the environment.

“It was clear that the Magnolia Town Board conditions violated the state siting law; therefore, the Livestock Facility Siting Review Board’s decision to reverse the Magnolia Town Board’s conditions was the right thing to do,” Fischer said.