A Kewaunee County farm has opted to end one of its legal battles with the state by paying over $200,000 in fines.
According to the Associated Press, Kinnard Farms and the Wisconsin Department of Justice settled one of its suits on Friday, which alleged that the operation improperly spread manure in Kewaunee and Door counties between 2018 and 2022, failed to submit an engineering evaluation for a feed storage area, and failed to timely submit annual nutrient management plan updates. The settlement calls for Kinnard Farms to pay $215,000 in fines and upgrade a pair of waste storage facilities and a feed storage area. The agreement allows the operation to pay forfeitures, surcharges, and fees without the admission of wrongdoing.
In a statement prepared by Lee Kinnard of Kinnard Farms, he said:
“For the sake of our family, our fifth-generation dairy and crop farming business, and our relationship with the DNR, we decided it is time to move forward with a settlement, avoiding a lengthy and costly dispute. Our family remains committed to working constructively with regulatory agencies as we continue our use of science-based practices to produce nutritious food while also being highly protective of our precious water and soil resources, our cows, and our community. We continue to innovate daily through our use of climate-smart practices. Our family prides itself on being a leader in regenerative agriculture. For decades, we have utilized practices such as cover cropping to build healthy soil and no-till planting to reduce erosion, and have incorporated industry-leading sand and water recycling technology, as well as a system that allows for the production of renewable natural gas. We look forward to pursuing state-of-the-art manure management technology that will allow our family to remain on the cutting edge of conservation and further protect and improve water quality.”
Kinnard Farms sued the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources last year for what they saw to be unfair conditions for their permit including herd limits and groundwater monitoring. That suit is still pending.
