MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — A proposed change to a five-year manure spreading agreement for livestock facilities is up for debate in Manitowoc County.
The debate centers around Chapter 28, Manitowoc County’s livestock facility licensing ordinance. The ordinance requires farms with more than 750 animal units to get a license before expanding. The agreement requires signatures from landowners to show there is enough space to safely spread manure.
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"It's one piece of the puzzle that is put in place to be proactive so that everybody in the community is on board with the farm," David Wetenkamp, Manitowoc County soil and water director, said.
County Executive Bob Ziegelbauer wants the agreement to remain in place.
"This ordinance protects and promotes large farms while addressing problems before they happen," Ziegelbauer said.
According to Wetenkamp, that proactive approach has made a difference.
"There were 25 to 30 complaints and spills a year in Manitowoc County, and most of those were land spreading. Since this ordinance was out in place in 2007 those complaints have been cut in half," Wetenkamp said.
Farm Bureau President Brent Sinkula, who also owns Irish Acres Farm, wants to remove the five-year requirement.
"It's a major hassle. Some of these land owners say, I don’t want to have to commit for five years," Sinkula said.
"As farm owners, we want to take care of our cattle, we want to take care of our land, we don’t want to have to worry about cutting through red tape and having duplicate forms that we have to fill out," Sinkula said.
For now, the five-year manure agreement requirement remains in place until the end of Ziegelbauer's term. When the new executive takes office, they can then decide to keep the five-year term or abolish it.
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