Economic and Social Concerns

• Wisconsin is losing family farms at a rate equivalent to five per day.
• Family farms provide 10% more permanent jobs and generate a 37% greater increase in per capita income than factory livestock operations. 2
• Family farm profits are usually spent in the local community, resulting in healthy local economies.  Factory farms are usually owned by out-of-state or multi-national corporations which don't spend in the community and take capital out of Wisconsin. 3
• Although they are a multi-million dollar industry, livestock factories take advantage of regulatory allowances and tax breaks meant for small family farms.  They are not subject to OSHA regulations or minimum wage laws.

Environmental and Food Safety Concerns

• Livestock operations generate 130 times the waste generated by humans in the U.S.  This waste is largely untreated, and often stored by the millions of gallons in open lakes or lagoons.  Across the U.S., livestock factories are responsible for fecal contamination of neary lakes, rivers and drinking water.
• Livestock factories are not subject to air emissions standards, despite the fact that they generate high levels of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, which cause illness in humans.
• According to its own staff, the WI Department of Natural Resources is not equipped to monitor even the existing number of livestock factories. 4
• Factory produced animals are kept in inhumane conditions and given excessive amounts of anti-biotics.

The Solution:  Family Farm Protection Act

The Family Farm Protection Act is designed to level the playing field for family farmers and ensure adequate environmental protections.  It would:

• Appropriately define livestock factories as industrial facilities, making them subject to the same regulations as other industrial facilities.
• Ensure a competitive marektplace for small farmers by implementing reforms such as establishing an agricultural anti-trust division of the Attorney General's office, directing cost sharing dollars to small farms and eliminating volume premiums.
• Require a full Environmental Impact Statement before permitting any operation over 1000 animal units.
• Enact and enforce air quality standards.
• Ensure that local citizens are able to participate in the decision-making process around permitting of factory operations.