Last Spring, residents around Salem township in found out that a big dairy facility, was moving to more than double in size from under 2000 to more than 5000 cows. That’s when the seeds of this campaign began. 

Operations like these are not farming as we know it. They drive down property values, wear and tear county roads, breakdown our traditional economy, and frequently runoff into wells, waterways, and neighboring land. We need the opportunity to understand how to control and repair existing contamination and limit further damage, but we know it is an uphill battle against Big Ag’s status quo.

In 2023, we started meeting in a family garage on a sixth-generation farm. For more than a year, now we have been working together to ask for our county or local councils and boards to put a stop to unchecked expansions like these. In 2023, we successfully supported the updated Waste Storage Ordinance and won the creation of the new Groundwater Advisory Committee, but there’s still a long way to go.

Together they are rallying with Pierce County neighbors to move county action to protect our homes and futures here.

The facility that sparked this campaign an example of what’s called a “CAFO” in industry jargon.

A “ Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation,” is a meat, dairy, or egg “facility”, which squeezes as many livestock as possible onto the smallest possible portion of land. Animals are kept and raised in confinement instead of grazing or eating in pastures, fields, or on range lands.

Managing these facility farms isn’t fool proof. Manure and other waste, is liquified to and held in outdoor “lagoons” or “pits” before being pumped and trucked to spread on offsite locations. Unfortunately, leaks, spills, and mismanagement are common problems.