Minnesota district court rules against Winona County dairy expansion; owner will appeal

More coverage related to water quality in southeastern Minnesota, from the Minnesota Reformer.

Court rules against Winona county dairy expansion; owner will appeal
By Madison McVan

A Minnesota district court ruled against the proposed expansion of a Lewiston dairy Tuesday in the latest chapter of a years-long legal battle between the dairy’s owners, Winona County officials and local environmental groups.

The owners of Daley Farm, a dairy with about 1,700 cows in southeast Minnesota, first applied for an expansion in 2017. The owners are seeking a modification to the farm’s environmental permit that would raise the capacity to more than 4,600 cows.

The farm is located in an environmentally sensitive area of the state, where toxic nitrates from fertilizer and manure easily reach drinking water sources. This month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told three Minnesota state agencies that regulators must take further action to combat nitrate pollution in the area. 

The proposed expansion led to a winding legal battle involving the dairy owners, environmental groups, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Winona County Board of Adjustment.

Tuesday’s ruling was a blow to the Daley family, said Ben Daley, one of the dairy’s owners. 

“We’re obviously disappointed, but we’re going to appeal,” Daley said. 

Winona County caps animal feedlots, including dairies, at 1,500 animal units. (Animal units are a legal unit of measurement used to define feedlot sizes across various species; a cow weighing more than 1,000 lbs is 1.4 animal units, while a large hog is .4 animal units.)

Daley Farm had a capacity of 2,275 animal units before the Winona County Zoning Ordinance introduced the 1,500-animal unit cap, so the Daley Farm was grandfathered in, allowed to keep its large herd. 

As part of the proposed expansion, Daley Farm’s owners had to apply for a variance from the county’s 1,500-animal unit cap. In 2019, the Winona County Board of Adjustment denied the variance application by a vote of 3-2. 

The dairy owners argued that the Board of Adjustments was biased against the dairy and appealed the ruling, kicking off a series of appeals, court orders and lawsuits. 

In November 2022, Daley Farm sued Winona County Board members and Land Stewardship Project members, alleging that county officials’ prior involvement with the environmental group denied the farm due process. The Daley family withdrew that case in March. 

Tuesday’s judgment was part of a separate lawsuit challenging the variance denial.

This Minnesota Reformer article is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Photo:  A Wisconsin dairy operation. Getty Images.

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• Nitrates in Southwestern Minnesota water: 'Do not give the water to infants' in Ellsworth
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