WINONA Minn. – The Winona County zoning enforcement board again denied the Daley farm at Lewiston a request to quadruple its dairy herd to 4,500 cows. The Board of Adjustment split 2-2, in effect killing the contentious Daley request for an exception to the county’s long-standing cap on herd sizes. The main argument against the expansion was the 64 million gallons of manure the larger herd would produce annually. The Daley argument was that manure can be managed so as not to damage the environment and underground aquifers. The Daleys also said they should be free to expand their business. The issue has been argued for years within the context of family farming versus factory farming.
How they voted
To grant the variance:
> Jordan Potter.
> Philip Schwantz.
Against a variance:
> Kelsey Fitzgerald.
> Elizabeth Heublein.
Reclused: Bob Redig. He previously had opposed the Daley project publicly and wanted to avoid appearances of bias.