The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources granted a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) permit, effective July 1, to a Door County dairy farm after a contentious public comment period for the permit led to a rare in-person public hearing.
The permit allows Gilbert Farms Ltd., a sixth-generation family-owned farm on County T just east of Sturgeon Bay in the Town of Sevastopol, to expand its herd from 1,443 to 2,430 animal units (1,150 milking and dry cows, 900 heifers and 400 calves, according to the permit). It is now the third CAFO in Door County, joining S&S Jerseyland Dairy in Forestville, whose permit allows 9,596 animal units, and Brey Cycle Farm in Sturgeon Bay, which is permitted 1,788 animal units.
A CAFO permit in Wisconsin is required for farms with more than 1,000 animal units, an approximation of 1,000 pounds of live animal weight. The state considers 715 milking cows or 1,000 beef cattle to equal 1,000 units. The permit is good for five years, so the one for Gilbert Farms expires June 30, 2031.
The DNR originally was scheduled to decide on the farm’s permit application in 2025, but the public comment period, required by the state before it makes a decision on CAFO permits, saw more than 300 Door County residents file written concerns with the DNR.
That led the DNR to hold the public hearing for the permit, also required by state law, as an in-person event (with an option to join online) Nov. 5, 2025, in Sturgeon Bay instead of the usual online-only hearing. A local ad hoc group calling themselves Concerned Citizens for Responsible Agriculture said in a news release it was the first such hearing in front of a live audience since 2020.
Several hundred people attended the hearing, with more than 30 speaking in person and about 20 speaking via Zoom. Most speakers spoke against granting the CAFO permit, although about a dozen favored it.
Those speaking against the permit gave a variety of reasons for their opposition. They included potential groundwater and well water quality and manure runoff issues from the farm land’s very shallow soil depth to often-fractured bedrock, frequently 5 feet or less, a sinkhole near manure ponds and the capability of the 1,425 acres the farm has available for manure spreading to handle the increase.
People against the CAFO permit also expressed concern about the farm’s proximity to environmentally protected areas like the Crossroads at Big Creek nature preserve, Shivering Sands Natural Area and Kellner Fen Natural Area, and the possible threats to them in the event of a manure spill.
The DNR issued a 45-page Notice of Final Determination for the Gilbert Farms permit on its website, with more than 41 of those pages devoted to the comments it received on the proposed permit and the agency’s responses.
One notable change that came from the public comments and hearing is that the farm must submit its groundwater monitoring plans and specifications to the DNR by Oct. 1, 2026, instead of Oct. 1, 2029, as previously planned. CAFO farms are required to have groundwater monitoring wells drilled within 90 days of their monitoring plans being approved by the DNR, so monitoring now can begin three years earlier than first expected.
The DNR also noted among its responses that it considers the capability of available land to handle all nutrient applications, so an increase in applied manure could be offset by a decrease in applied commercial fertilizer, for example. The farm also is required to increase its manure storage capability by Dec. 31 to 180 days from the 94 it now has.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@usatodayco.com.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Door County dairy farm gets CAFO permit after public raises concerns
Reporting by Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette | USA TODAY Network
