Submitted by Danny Akenson, GROWW
PIERCE COUNTY, WI – Ridge Breeze Dairy’s application for $18 million in public financing through the Public Finance Authority is up in the air following public backlash and questions about what the money would be used for.
The application was virtually unknown to members of the public until mere weeks ago. The town board’s public hearing for the financing had been scheduled for Wednesday, March 12, but was postponed indefinitely after the town decided to discuss their options with their town attorney before making a decision.
Brad Gerrits is the Director of Operations for the Appleton-based corporation that owns Ridge Breeze, a factory farm that is attempting to expand to become a 6,500-cow mega-dairy. When asked what the money would be used for, Gerrits was adamant that it wouldn’t be used for a factory farm gas digester, but he was unable to say where the money would go.
This lack of transparency could go against PFA policy which, according to their website, states that, “PFA’s governance structure and local government oversight and approval requirements for each financing ensure accountability and transparency.”
Mega-dairy developers like Ridge Breeze use public financing to sell tax-exempt bonds to wealthy investors who then give them low-interest loans. Many developers use these loans to expand their operations and build digesters that process waste to make methane gas and millions off of credits. However, PFA’s policy requires projects to “demonstrate tangible public benefits to the community in which it resides.”
“Small operators can’t get low interest deals like this,” said Danny Akenson, “These mega-dairies leave communities with all the negative impacts. Ridge Breeze and their wealthy investors get the positive economic impacts of profits, fees, tax-free income, construction contracts and production. This application should be pulled and the plans to expand should be stopped altogether.”
Gerrits waffled on whether Breeze’s application for the public financing would go forward after the town board meeting, claiming it had been blown out of proportion. Several concerned Pierce County residents came forward at the town board meeting with their disagreement over the application.
GROWW is a grassroots organization based in Western Wisconsin. We began our work in 2019 as Pierce County GrassRoots Organizing and grew out of the name as we began to organize with communities in seven Western Wisconsin counties: Barron, Buffalo, Dunn, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, and St. Croix. To get connected or learn more about GROWW, visit us at GRO-WW.org, on Instagram at @GrowWisconsin, or on Facebook at Facebook.com/GROWWisconsin.
Editor’s note: Several of the Townships are a now considering proposing their own CAFO ordinances to protect their interests. The CAFOs are now on the offensive in this regard. It was at the recent Gilman and Rock Elm Township meetings that this became evident.
Speaking against the CAFO ordinance, from even further past township lines, Delanie Breuer, a lawyer with Fredrikson and Byron in Madison, Wisconsin was representing Venture Dairy Cooperative to threaten potential litigation against the Towns. See also the article, “They’re not coming for your cows” on this website.
