Former Bayfield County Board member and current Director of Strategic Policy Partnerships at the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project Mary Dougherty knows a thing or two about the intersection of progress and process in agriculture.

On July 22, the Door County Environmental Council will feature Dougherty as its speaker for a presentation titled "Good Neighbors Pay Their Own Way: Bigger Operations, Bigger Risks, Local Solutions."

Dougherty was on the front lines when a proposed 26,000-head hog operation sought to locate in her town of 400 residents. That experience helped her create the Operations Ordinance, which requires large-scale agricultural operators to submit their plans for an independent review to ensure impacts on roads, mass mortality, biosecurity, fire protection, and emergency preparedness have been considered before construction begins and additional animals are brought to the site.

Dougherty says it comes down to neighbors being respectful of one another, whether they have one dog or thousands of farm animals in their backyard.

The free program will take place at the Kress Pavilion beginning at 7 p.m. If you cannot attend in person, a Zoom link will be available on the Door County Environmental Council's website.