For Immediate Release
At a Burnett County public hearing on July 11th, 2019 proposed revisions to the Burnett County Land Use Ordinance, Chapter 30 was the topic up for debate.
The intent of this public hearing was to establish a moratorium on the licensing of new livestock facilities that will have 1,000 or more animal units or expanding an existing facility to 1,000 or more animals known as “Moratorium on Livestock Facilities Licensing”.
The Wisconsin Dairy Alliance along with WMC have serious concerns with the fact that Burnett County is attempting to take on legal authority outside of their scope.
Moratoria are one of the most intrusive regulatory burdens government can impose on businesses and require appropriate legal authority and policy basis in order for it to be enacted. Based on this, if the moratorium ordinance is enacted, it would be unlawful and unenforceable.
The Burnett County Board of Supervisors is voting today to adopt a moratorium on Livestock Facilities Licensing for facilities with 1,000 animal units or greater. Other counties that have already adopted moratoriums include Eau Claire County, Ashland County, Bayfield County and Douglas County. Three of these counties have subsequently adopted Large-Scale CAFO Ordinances.
“It is time for us to stand up for our right to farm in Wisconsin. Our cheese processing industry is at risk if our cheese plants do not have the milk supply they need to maintain Wisconsin as the #1 cheese producing state. We respectfully ask counties who have passed these unlawful and unenforceable ordinances to uphold the laws of the State of Wisconsin before we risk losing our $44 billion state dairy economy,” said Cindy Leitner, President of the Wisconsin Dairy Alliance.
