Dairy farm in Pella plans expansion

Another dairy farm in Shawano County has mapped out an expansion plan that calls for more cows and an improved waste-management system.

Schmidt Hilltop Haven, located in the town of Pella, is planning to build a new barn and new manure pit to accommodate a growing herd of perhaps 1,000 or more cows.

It could become the eighth farm in Shawano County to qualify as a “concentrated animal feeding operation,” or CAFO, the term used by state regulators to describe Wisconsin’s growing number of megafarms.

Town and county officials have endorsed Hilltop Haven owner Robert Schmidt’s expansion, calling it a healthy sign of growth and progress.

“Good for him if he can expand and have a successful business,” Pella town planning commissioner Wayne Heidemann said.

Matsche Farms Inc., located near Birnamwood, recently unveiled plans for expanding to about 9,000 cows, which would make it one of the state’s largest dairy farms.

Schmidt, who has been farming in Pella for 20 years, said he intends to stay below the CAFO threshold as long as possible, to avoid the hassles of state government regulation.

He hopes to finish building a new barn by next spring to relieve his cows of overcrowding and provide them added comfort to improve their milk output. Animals that feel too congested and uncomfortable are not as productive, the 53-year-old farmer said.

“It’s just like people,” he said. “You like to have a little room.”

Plans submitted to the town and county also include construction of a manure storage pit capable of holding 4 million gallons of animal waste for months at a time.

The barn is estimated to cost $1.2 million and the manure pit another $300,000.

Schmidt, who said he hopes to have the storage pit built within a year or two, currently hauls manure away every day and applies it immediately to surrounding crop fields. The approach is not always ideal during certain times of the year, including when the fields are frozen in winter.

Hilltop Haven covers about 1,095 acres along County Road D just north of the Waupaca County line.

Shawano County land conservationist Scott Frank said officials were pleased to see an improved waste-management system in Schmidt’s plan. On-site storage of manure decreases the chances of excessive runoff into nearby creeks or streams, Frank said.

Hilltop Haven will be required to submit waste-management plans to the county every year under the approved expansion plan.

Frank said the farmer has demonstrated a commitment to managing his growing operation.

“There’s been a good track record,” Frank said.

The county’s planning, development and zoning committee approved the expansion earlier this month, following approval by the Pella planning commission last month. Neither the County Board nor Town Board is required to take action.

The threshold for becoming a CAFO is measured as 1,000 “animal units,” a number than can differ slightly from the number of cows on a farm.

Hilltop Haven has a county permit for 630 animal units, and the new permit will allow a herd of up to 1,150 units. Schmidt said he does not intend to reach the maximum, although family members might do so when they take over the business in the future.

The state Department of Natural Resources has licensed about 270 CAFO’s throughout the state, including seven in Shawano County.

Pella Town Chairman Charles Bartz said he never thought he would see such a large dairy farm in Pella. Bartz, who has 100 cows on his farm, said family farms seem to be giving way to larger operations.

Although the chairman said he supports the Hilltop Haven expansion, he called it a sign of changing times in agriculture.

“It’s tough to keep in business,” he said. “You’ve got to expand nowadays.”