Livestock siting permit approved for Roth Feeder Pig II
By Ted Pennekamp
By a vote of 4-1, the Crawford County Conservation Committee approved of granting a livestock siting permit to Roth Feeder Pig II to build a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), pending Department of Natural Resources approval of the nutrient management plan update which is done every year on March 31.
The facility where the discharge will occur will be located at Harvest Lane, Wauzeka. Roth Feeder Pig II has an address of 31961 Hummingbird Lane, Wauzeka.
County Board Chairman Tom Cornford, along with committee members Chairman Dave Olson, Mary Kuhn and Kim Moret voted in favor of granting the permit. Committee member Gary Koch voted against.
At the outset of the meeting, County Conservationist Dave Troester said the committee had three options. The committee could grant the permit, it could deny the permit or it could vote to have an extension if the committee needed more information.
“The very earliest construction would begin would be the spring of 2023, but that is not for sure,” said the owner of Roth Feeder Pig II, A.V. Roth. Roth also said some soil might be moved before then. The earliest there would be hog manure on the property would be the fall of 2024, if everything goes well, said Roth.
Thirteen people were in the audience at the meeting, including two of Roth’s children. Several members of the Crawford Stewardship Project were present.
After the vote, Forest Jahnke of the Crawford Stewardship Project said, “I don’t understand why this had to be pushed through today when we could have had an extension.”
Roth Feeder Pig II received its Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on May 6. The WPDES permit became effective on June 1. The date of expiration is May 31, 2027.
According to information in the WPDES permit, Roth Feeder Pig II would house approximately 960 gilts under 55 pounds, 2,008 gilts over 55 pounds, 5,144 sows and 48 boars. This would be equivalent to 2,980.8 mixed animal units. The operation anticipates 9,427,053 gallons of liquid manure to be generated annually and 1,295 acres to be available for manure application.
Information at Tuesday’s committee meeting revealed, however, that some figures listed in the WPDES permit have changed somewhat. Roth said the number of acres will be higher, for example.
When it is eventually built, structures at the site would include three barns, a composting building and an equipment shed. A gestation barn and gilt development unit barn will have underbarn concrete manure storage facilities while a farrowing barn would have a concrete manure collection tank with a transfer system directing manure to the gestation barn.
