concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs<\/a>. The farms are required to obtain state permits.<\/p>\n\u201cGilbert Farms is over the 1,000 animal unit threshold, and, as a result, was issued a notice of noncompliance,\u201d Mueller said. \u201cTo return to compliance, the department is requiring Gilbert Farms to obtain a permit.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said there\u2019s a sinkhole near the farm\u2019s production site, so Gilbert Farms\u2019 new waste storage facility will need to use a liquid-tight concrete design and groundwater monitoring will be required. The farm\u2019s feed storage area will also need to be upgraded.<\/p>\n
The DNR received feedback about the proposed permit from around 250 people before this week\u2019s hearing, Mueller said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During the hearing, Gilbert Farms co-owner Marge Gilbert asked that the DNR approve the permit. She said the Gilbert family has been farming in Door County for almost 150 years. She said farming has always been more than \u201cjust a job\u201d for the family.<\/p>\n
\u201cFarms serve as both a business and a way of life,\u201d she said. \u201cIt gives us a sense of purpose, builds self-reliance, creates a close-knit community and provides deep fulfillment for all.\u201d<\/p>\n
But many who spoke during the hearing opposed the project, calling for an environmental impact study looking at potential fallout of the farm\u2019s expansion.<\/p>\n
Crystal Brown, executive director of the Clean Water Action Council of Northeast Wisconsin advocacy group, said the region of the property immediately around the sinkhole is \u201chighly erodible\u201d and has a \u201cvery high runoff potential.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThere are over 8,000 private wells in Door County,\u201d she said. \u201cTens of thousands of people depend on this drinking water, we have a responsibility to our neighbors to not put that at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sturgeon Bay resident Janelle Peotter also testified against the proposal. She said a large-scale feeding operation produces millions of gallons of manure each year, containing nitrates, phosphorus and bacteria.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said she\u2019s worried manure could make it into Door County\u2019s water system.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe rely on clean water for our families, for our orchards, for our tourism, for the very identity of Door County,\u201d she said. \u201cTo jeopardize that for one industrial expansion is to gamble with something we cannot replace. I understand the desire to grow, to support local agriculture, to keep farms viable, but a CAFO of this size isn\u2019t the kind of agriculture that built this community.\u201d<\/p>\n
While many testified against the permit, some county residents supported the plan. That includes Amy Duffield, a 20-year resident of Sturgeon Bay who works in the dairy industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Duffield said the Gilbert family have been \u201cquality dairy producers\u201d for many years and want clean water as much as anybody else.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey know what they\u2019re doing, and they wish to stay here forever,\u201d Duffield said. \u201cIf we were to lose this dairy, what would happen next? Would there be other types of development?\u201d<\/p>\n
The DNR is taking written feedback on Gilbert Farms\u2019 permit through Nov. 12 before the agency makes a decision on the permit in the coming months.<\/p>\n
Wisconsin Public Radio, \u00a9 Copyright 2025, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some Door County residents fear that allowing a local dairy farm to expand its operations would harm the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277646,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[2342,192,3,79],"class_list":{"0":"post-277645","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-agriculture","9":"tag-environment","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}