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Winona County BOA Denial of CAFO Variance a Win for Farms, People & the Land

It's Time to Start Investing in a Sustainable Ag Economy

By Tim Ahrens, Sam Streukens & Matthew Sheets
December 2, 2021

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Today, the voice of the people in Winona county prevailed against an attempt by a factory dairy farm to blow by local, sensible limitations on the number of animals (and thus the amount of manure) that can be housed in one location. After thoroughly considering the evidence, the Winona County Board of Adjustment once again denied a request brought forward by Daley Farm for a variance to the Winona County animal unit cap. At issue is Daley Farm’s attempt to add roughly 3,000 animals to its existing operation, which would put the operation at around 6,000 animal units, almost four times the county’s animal unit cap of 1,500 animal units. Today’s vote was a reaffirmation of the Winona County Board of Adjustment’s decision over a year ago to protect the water, land, and rural economies and hold up local control.

It’s time to stop wasting public resources on the “get big or get out” model of agriculture this sort of expansion attempt represents and instead invest in an agricultural economy that creates prosperous, sustainable communities while protecting our water and the land. We value our community and the future of Winona County when we invest in local foods and small to mid-sized farms.

Getting bigger to put our neighbors out of business is not the solution. Investing in the health of our community is the legacy that we must maintain for family farms and the next generation.

We have been organizing, along with other members of the Land Stewardship Project and our community in Winona County, to stand up for a better agricultural system. We have pulled together and shown our support for building a food and farming system that works for everyone. We must continue to stand together to support our communities, farmers, land, and water, and to say “no” to the expansion of factory farms.

LSP members Tim Ahrens and Sam Streukens live in the Winona County communities of Altura and Winona, respectively. Matthew Sheets is a  Land Stewardship Project organizer. For more information, contact Sheets at 612-767-9709 or MSheets@landstewardshipproject.org.

Winona County residents gathered on Nov. 28 to call for the Board of Adjustment to deny Daley Farm’s request for a animal unit cap variance.

 

Category: Blog
Tags: CAFO • Daley Farm • local control • local democracy • Winona County

Upcoming Events

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September 2025

Wednesday September 3

10:00 am – 3:00 pm
LSP Montevideo Office Coffee & Conversation
Wednesday September 3
10:00 am – 3:00 pm
LSP Montevideo Office Coffee & Conversation
111 N 1st St, Montevideo, MN 56265, USA

On the first Wednesday of each month, the Land Stewardship Project hosts coffee and conversation at our downtown Montevideo office (111 North First Street), and we hope you will have time to join us at the next one on Wednesday, Sept. 3, from 10 a.m. to noon.

The open house-style mornings feature a quick update on recent LSP work and then plenty of time to enjoy your coffee and build community the old-fashioned way, by talking face-to-face. This month we will give an update on our work to combat consolidation in animal agriculture and provide an overview of our recent town hall in Paynesville with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.  

 Come when you can and stay as long as you like! Don’t hesitate to bring along a friend or two — we always enjoy meeting someone new.

For more information, contact LSP’s Matthew Sheets at msheets@landstewardshipproject.org.

Friday September 5

9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Soil Health Field Day on the Cotter Farm: Austin
Friday September 5
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Soil Health Field Day on the Cotter Farm: Austin
50203 205th St, Austin, MN 55912, USA

 Sign up today for a get-together down on Tom Cotter’s Farm. This field day brings together food companies, local farmers and other professionals in agriculture — a perfect opportunity for networking and discussion.
Hear from soil health experts, then board the Topless Bus to take a tour of Tom’s farm. A FREE TACO BAR LUNCH will featureTom’s own grass-fed beef, along with authentic, homemade tortillas and rice. Featured speakers include soil scientist Kris Nichols and agronomist Joe Ailts.
 
You can check out the field day flier here. For more details and to register, click here.

Saturday September 6

9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Soil & Food Health Field Day: Austin
Saturday September 6
9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Soil & Food Health Field Day: Austin
50203 205th St, Austin, MN 55912, USA

Details are here.

Monday September 8

7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Anne Biklé in conversation with Ross Evelsizer: What Your Food Ate
Monday September 8
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Anne Biklé in conversation with Ross Evelsizer: What Your Food Ate
Pulpit Rock Brewing Company, 207 College Dr, Decorah, IA 52101, USA

Join Anne Biklé (co-author, What Your Food Ate: How to Restore Our Land and Reclaim Our Health) and NEIA RC & D Natural Resource Projects Director, Ross Evelsizer, for a conversation and Q & A session followed by a book signing. Everyone is invited to this free event sponsored by the Oneota Valley Literary Foundation, with support from Pulpit Rock Brewing and Dragonfly Books.
 
Details on the Sept. 8 event are here.

Tuesday September 9

9:00 am – 3:00 pm
'Growing Resilience' Field Day at Churchill Reserve Grass-Fed Beef
Tuesday September 9
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
'Growing Resilience' Field Day at Churchill Reserve Grass-Fed Beef
36001 63rd Avenue Way Cannon Falls, MN, 55009

Spend a day with Clean River Partners and farmers discussing their experiences with different conservation management practices as they navigate the challenges of making a livelihood, accessing land and markets, and dealing with unpredictable weather conditions.

Join farmers Bryan Lips (BT Farms), Wendy Johnson (Jóia Food & Fiber Farm), Todd Churchill (Churchill Reserve), Helen Forsythe (Feed the People Farm Cooperative), and more, to discuss topics like wide-row corn and cover crops, the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program, agroforestry, growing small grains, and prescribed grazing. 

For more information and to register, click here. 

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