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January 14, 2000
Dairy expansion raises neighbors' ireBy SARA SYVERSON Journal Staff Writer NEW ULM -- A plan to expand a dairy operation in rural New Ulm raised concern from neighbors at the Brown County Planning Commission meeting earlier this week. Donald T. Hoffman, who operates a 300-animal unit dairy facility on 20.81 acres of land in section 8 of Cottonwood Township, received permission from the commission to expand the dairy setup to accommodate 786 dairy-animal units. The plans also include the construction of a 125x675 ft. by 15 ft. deep earthen, dairy-manure holding basin. Donald T. Hoffman decided to expand for economic reasons and for the future of his two sons. "I would like to see my two sons have an opportunity to farm milk cows here," said Donald Hoffman, "I've been working for more than a year to present this package to the planning commission and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and to acquire enough acres of land to spread the manure the proper way." Several of Donald T. Hoffman's neighbors attended the meeting Tuesday. Some complained that issues and questions were not properly addressed by the planning commission. "Twelve neighbors showed up (to the meeting) wanting some answers on what's going to be done," said Jeff Hoffmann, who lives 1 mile from Donald T. Hoffman, "The planning commission answered some of the questions but not all of them. We were all very disappointed in how the meeting was run. We just thought the planning commission was in a hurry to pass this. There should have been more people involved or notified of this before it was passed by the planning commission." Jeff Hoffmann felt the planning commission did not thoroughly consider the letters about the expansion proposal that were written by neighbors who could not attend the meeting. Issues of odor, water quality and quantity, and environmental impact regarding the expansion were also brought up by neighbors. Several neighbors felt proper notification of Donald T. Hoffman's plans prior to the planning commission was not made. "I have no problem with him trying to better himself. As a neighbor he didn't say 'boo' until we got a letter in the mail," said Tom Bastian, a farmer who lives approximately a half-mile from Donald T. Hoffman. "It was a surprise he never approached the neighbors ... but at this magnitude ... it just blows me away how big this is. There's nothing like that (pit size) around New Ulm. The people in New Ulm need to know what's going in their backyard. If the wind's right and it's the right time of year, New Ulm will smell it." Tom Bastian built a new home on his land and is concerned about the possibility of decreased property value due to the odor from the expanded dairy facility. Donald T. Hoffman said, "We're certainly not setting out to upset our neighbors. We're trying to be open and honest about this, and any questions or concerns they have I'd be happy to answer." Questions put to the planning commission were answered, said Donald T. Hoffman, and towards the end of the meeting some of the questions were repeated. "I felt the planning commission did a good job to the best of their ability answering the questions. It wasn't an easy job ... but a professional job." Leo Wilfahrt, member of the planning commission, said that the commission gave sufficient time for input concerning Donald T. Hoffman's expansion and that proper procedures were followed. "The majority of the board did feel we did give enough time, and we did listen to the concerns," said Wilfahrt, "If they did request to be heard, they were heard." Environmental concerns with the expansion of the dairy operation were raised. "They want to put in a lagoon that is bigger than the turf where they play at the Metrodome. You could put two Hy-Vees inside of it (44,000 square feet)." said neighbor Jerome Fischer, who lives 1 1/2 miles from Donald T. Hoffman's dairy, "I don't want to put him out of business. He can milk cows down there; that's fine, but the lagoon is out of line. We're concerned about odor ... water and air pollution." Donald T. Hoffman said his operation plans to abide by all of the laws on the books to minimize the odors coming from the facility. He is working with the Department of Natural Resources, and the water to be used will be monitored by the DNR. "With animal agriculture there is no technology at this point to completely eliminate odor yet," said Donald T. Hoffman, "I'm a big sportsman myself, and the last thing I'd want to do is hurt our environment. Animal agriculture has been here for many years and we hope it will be here for many more years."
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