Our landscape is dotted with small farms where generations of families have milked herds of 30 or 40 cows, raised their families, and cropped the land. Many of Wisconsin's family farmers have been good stewards of the land, operating farms that minimize water pollution and conserve habitat. The increasing trend in Wisconsin is toward large-scale industrial agriculture. Many Wisconsin farmers want to continue operating a traditional small farm, but are being squeezed out by industrial agriculture. At the same time, large-scale agriculture brings with it an extensive set of public health and environmental problems.
Animal waste poses a human health risk due to pathogens it carries, such as cryptosporidium.
In 1993, cryptosporidium in Milwaukee's drinking water supply made 400,000 people sick and led to the deaths of more than 100 people. In June of 1998, runoff from a large dairy near Cleveland in Manitowoc County created a plume of contaminated water that stretched a quarter-mile into Lake Michigan, killing hundreds of game fish as well as thousands of minnows and other smaller fish. In May of 1999, liquid dairy manure and contaminated milk were dumped into the South Fork of the Baraboo River, killing thousands of fish and fouling between five and six miles of the trout stream. Family Farmers Are Being Squeezed Out Wisconsin is losing 3-4 family farms daily. Mergers and consolidations in the agriculture industries are creating less competition and forcing small farms out of business.