State leans on citizens to scrutinize big farms’ manure plans. Opponents fear serious environmental harm.
Tag: Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk
The Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk is an editorially independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri School of Journalism in partnership with Report For America and funded by the Walton Family Foundation. Wisconsin Watch is a member of the network.
Posted inEnvironment
The businessman: Pig farm developer gains little trust in Wisconsin town. He doesn’t particularly care.
Critics accuse a developer of disregarding local concerns in his push to construct the state’s largest pig farm. He calls himself the victim of “selfish” residents.
Posted inEnvironment
The chairman: How a plan to develop Wisconsin’s largest pig farm upended a small town’s politics
A proposal for a $20 million concentrated animal feeding operation sowed distrust in Trade Lake as opponents accused the town’s chairman of backroom dealings to facilitate construction.
Posted inEnvironment
Farm conservation programs offer solutions to climate threats, but they’re vastly underfunded
The Biden administration has called the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s farm conservation programs a “linchpin” in the nation’s climate strategy, yet they remain vastly underfunded.
Posted inEnvironment
Threat to sue town in Polk County, Wisconsin, over large farm regulations revives local control fight
Backed by a pro-business law group, two Wisconsin residents challenge regulations of concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs.
Posted inEnvironment
Mississippi River basin residents worry about environment, but few know they live in the basin
A survey of residents in 10 states, including Wisconsin, points to a need for better communication from river scientists and advocates.
Posted inEnvironment
Composting businesses are sprouting across the Midwest, but many cities are unprepared
Composting food waste can reduce climate impacts and save municipalities money on landfill fees, but concerns about bad smells and pests sometimes get in the way.
Posted inEnvironment
Mississippi River’s historic high and low water levels vex shipping industry
The Mississippi River has reached near-historic lows for the second year in a row, which is slowing down shipping and driving up costs for everyone from barge companies to grain elevators.
Posted inEnvironment
Chlorine creates harmful byproducts in drinking water. New research seeks solutions.
The Environmental Protection Agency is funding four new research projects into a fundamental drinking water challenge: how to make sure water stays clean of illness-causing microbes without accidentally creating toxic chemicals.
Posted inEnvironment
Poor regulatory safeguards leave farmworkers suffocating in the face of increasing heat waves
A fifth of reported heat-related deaths between 2017 and 2022 were agricultural workers, according to OSHA data. Advocacy groups are calling attention to the impact of climate change on this group.
Posted inNews & Announcements
Summer of weather records one reason we’re talking water quality in La Crosse Sept. 21
Wisconsin Watch, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Sustainability Institute will team up to discuss issues along the Mississippi River.
Posted inEnvironment
The Mississippi River’s floodplain forests are dying. The race is on to bring them back.
Floodplain forests play a pivotal role in the river ecosystem – creating wildlife habitat, improving water quality, storing carbon and slowing flooding. But they’re disappearing.