The decision prompts a 60-day timer to contest the case and raises urgency across Western Wisconsin to pass local Operations Ordinances.

Pierce County, Wis. — On February 20, the Wisconsin DNR announced their decision to issue a permit for Ridge Breeze Dairy to expand. Despite the DNR’s green light, many local people and families continue to oppose the plans from the Appleton-based corporation to build the largest factory farm in Western Wisconsin.

The DNR’s permit decision would allow Ridge Breeze Dairy to nearly quadruple the number of cows at a Pierce County location from 1,700 to 6,500. The permit would also authorize Ridge Breeze to spread 80 million gallons of untreated waste on more than 7,000 acres in Pierce, St. Croix and Pepin counties.

“We have proven to the DNR repeatedly that Ridge Breeze is not to be trusted and that this is a bad permit,” said Danny Akenson, a community organizer with Grassroots Organizing Western Wisconsin (GROWW). “People in Wisconsin deserve the freedom to decide what is being spread on their land, but companies like Ridge Breeze don’t even want them to know.”

Powerful local opposition is looking to contest the water pollution permit that is riddled with a myriad of problems. More than 140 local people attended an in-person hearing on the massive expansion in July 2024, with another 300 people registered virtually to listen in and testify.

Among local concerns are Ridge Beeze’s repeated false claims that more than 100 landowners have agreed to have Ridge Breeze spread manure on their property. Many landowners have no agreement in place with Ridge Breeze. Some with property listed told GROWW they’d never even heard of Ridge Breeze.