Minneapolis Star Tribune
Saturday, June 11, 2005

http://www.startribune.com/stories/465/5451232.html

Doug Grow: Puny Township 1, Big Ag 0

By Doug Grow

You've surely never heard of Ripley Township, in Dodge County in southeastern Minnesota.

It's 6 miles by 6 miles (most townships are) of mostly flat farmland. There are only about 115 registered voters in the sparsely populated place, but they may be the feistiest 115 in all of Minnesota.

The residents have been battling, in no particular order: Dodge County government, state politicians, state boards, state agencies and the powerful corporate giants of the agriculture industry.

So far, puny Ripley is holding on just fine.

On the surface, the issue is the desire of a New Jersey investor to build a 3,000-cow dairy operation in the township. Seventy-five percent of the township residents oppose it.

"But this isn't about a township versus a big dairy operation," says Kerry Schroeder, one of three supervisors on the Township Board. "This is about a township protecting its people. It's about a township doing what the people want. It's about democracy."

Sweet sentiment. But most of us have grown cynical when it comes to what happens when the will of people runs up against corporate dollars. The dollars win.

But in this case, the dollars are being held at least to a tie. The Township Board, so far, has been able to block the unwanted factory dairy farm with a temporary zoning regulation.

Big ag has not given up. And big ag, like other business giants, has become adept at coming across as our friend.

In Minnesota, Sen. Steve Dille, R-Dassel, is a face and voice of agribusiness, though the industry has many friends in high places. Minnesota's governor and commissioner of agriculture, for instance, believe that when it comes to farming, bigger is not only better, it's inevitable.

A farmer himself, Dille wrote a 13-point plea during this legislative session calling for the end to the "feedlot wars," which he traces back to the mid-1980s. The first three points: 1) Peace; 2) Harmony; 3) Love.

The Senate adopted his letter as an official resolution.

"All I'm saying is that we have a serious situation in Minnesota," Dille said in a telephone interview. "I'm just saying we should respect all approaches to growing the livestock industry. Promote your way of operating; don't tear down the other person's approach."

When Dille describes the proposed Ripley Township dairy operation with as many as 3,000 cows, you can almost smell the sweet scent of lilacs wafting from the manure pits.

Everyone would benefit from this fine operation, he says.

Dille says he doesn't necessarily believe that small farms are doomed, but then, he rattles off doomsday statistics. There are 80,000 farms left in the state, but only 9,000 of those farms gross enough to support a family.

In Dille's world view, "Three farm families were just trying to pool their resources so they could make a living."

What of the New Jersey investor behind the deal?

"Yes, I've heard something about that," Dille said, before going on about the poor families who received permission to start the operation only to have the Ripley Township Board "pull the rug out from under them."

But Dille really doesn't blame the people of Ripley Township for all the tumult. He blames his favorite target for all things bad, a nonprofit called the Land Stewardship Project.

"I've tried to make peace with them, but all they want to do is fight," he said. "... They've come into this and made a mountain out of a molehill."

Schroeder scoffs at the notion that Land Stewardship has stirred up trouble. (The project's main mission is to foster sustainable agriculture and communities.)

"They came in because they were asked," Schroeder said. "They've done a good job."

And the fight, as it turns out, is much bigger than one factory farm vs. one little township.

Ripley Township's resolve has shown the ag industry that something needs to be done to take away the zoning power of these troublesome townships. Legislation expected to make it through the special session would chip away a small hunk of township autonomy. Dille is trying to work in language that would overrule the Ripley Township action that stopped the factory farm.

"But I don't think my language will pass," he confessed.

That's because the people of Ripley Township and their friends have refused to roll over.

"We don't believe the Land of 10,000 Lakes should become the Land of 10,000 Manure Lagoons," Schroeder said. "And we really believe the people should have a voice."

Doug Grow is at dgrow@startribune.com.

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