Hello,

I want to make you all aware of the proposed expansion of Rustic Wagon Wheel Dairy LLC located on Saxonburg Road and expanding to Nuclear Road (in Mishicot). If this expansion gets approved the farm will go from 1,000 cows to over 6,000. To put this into perspective, the average dairy farm in Wisconsin has 185 cows. 

I’m writing to ask you to sign our petition AGAINST this farm and join me in saving our small community and our family farms. For the last several years one to two dairy farms have been going out of business each day in Wisconsin. Last year, we watched as several farms in our state were filmed dumping their milk on the local news because processing plants, full to the brim, would not take it. It was heartbreaking to see. The milk price is already depressed and to flood the market with this expansion is NOT going to benefit anyone. 

But, why does this matter to you?

Economy

• This farm will place a huge burden on our town’s budget to fix road damage due to heavy truck traffic. Our roads are not designed for increased traffic like this.
• It could possibly drive family farms out of business (such as my family’s farm and surrounding area farms).
• Will decrease property value of our area homes because of the noxious odors, potential contamination of wells and increased traffic of the area.

Water Quality

• A farm this size poses ongoing threats to Wisconsin’s waterways. Raw, untreated manure can contaminate waterways through field runoff and spills. 
• We need to know where this investor plans on putting manure from his 6,000 cows. 
• The high capacity wells could affect existing wells in the area.

Community Concerns

• Increased oder resulting from the number of animals in the area. This investor will not have to deal with the smell as he does not live in Manitowoc County. 
• Safety concerns resulting from increased traffic in the area.
• Noise level will increase due to more equipment on the roads and barn fan noise.
• Farm will be close to residential areas.

What can we do to stop this?

1. Sign our petition.
2. Share this post to make our friends and neighbors aware of the negative impact a farm this size would bring to our community.
3. Attend the next town meeting Tuesday, June 8 at 7 p.m. and voice your concerns.

Thank you for your support!