WINONA, Minn. – Two consistent supporters of the Daley Farm plan to triple the size of its Lewiston dairy herd have propelled the issue back on the County Board agenda. Without mentioning Daley by name, Commissioner Steve Jacob, from rural Elba, proposed revisiting the county’s cap on herd sizes. A second rural commissioner, Marcia Ward from Dakota, seconded the motion. Under the Board’s parliamentary rules, that was enough to put the animal cap on the Board’s May 24 agenda. At issue is the county’s 1998 policy that limits feedlots to 1,500 animal units. For several years, the Daleys have pressed for an exception for them to triple their herd to 4,500. Environmentalists have prevailed through countless Daley attempts through the courts and various agencies to force the county to relax its 1,500 limit. Among environmental arguments is tyhat groundwater in Lewiston, only a mile from the Daley farm, is already too contaminated for drinking, It was not clear how Jacob and Ward have calculated a chance that the five-member Board will change its position against mega-feedlots.
Daley panorama in winter. A huge operation now at 1,500 animal units. Daley goal: 4,500 if county relents on its 1998 animal-unit ma. Image: Steve Lunde