Democracy Talk 

On the evening of Oct. 6, 2003, we saw what happens when the people's power to govern gets in the way of industrial agriculture's desire to build and operate factory farms. On that night, southeast Minnesota's Ripley Township held a community meeting to discuss a proposal by Zaitz Trust, a New Jersey investment firm, to build a 3,000-cow factory farm in their township. If built, this would be the largest dairy operation in the state.

Ripley Township boasts all of 108 registered voters, according to 2002 election records. Thirty-one of them were at the meeting that night, presenting a citizen proposal calling for a moratorium on unwanted, potentially dangerous development such as huge industrial livestock operations until proper planning could be put in place. The proposal was backed by a petition with 83 signatures of township residents - more than 75% of the township's voters. But when community residents arrived at their township meeting, they found the hall packed with representatives of industrial agriculture.

Of the nearly 200 factory farm boosters who packed the room, fewer than 10 were from the township, according to the meeting sign-up sheet. Monsanto Corporation sent 5 representatives. Land O' Lakes, Cargill, and Agri-Bank (a huge ag lender with $35 billion in assets) were there in force, as was the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and representatives of commodity groups.

These outside proponents of corporate-backed factory farms took over the meeting. While an "industry relations specialist" from Monsanto's St. Louis headquarters sat comfortably, local citizens were forced to stand for what became a 3 ½ hour marathon of pro-factory farm pressure. A commodity broker "facilitated" a question and answer session, in which he tried to ignore written questions from local residents who oppose the factory farm (until called on it by a sharp-eyed citizen). At the end of the meeting, the town board chair at the time, who backed the proposed facility, was quoted in local papers saying, "We can't just look at what the citizens want. We have to look at the big picture. If that hurts your feelings, I'm sorry."

It's what the citizens don't want that the township board should pay attention to: an earthen basin the size of 7 football fields and 18 feet deep to hold liquid manure from 3,000 cows. Knowing that major environmental problems have been caused elsewhere by manure storage from huge dairy and hog factory farms, the citizens are rightly concerned about potential air and water pollution.

The original proposal of the Zaitz Trust was to build two 2,100-cow dairies in Dodge County, one in Ashland Township and one in Ripley. When word got out about the proposed dairies, Evan Schmeling, who farms in Dodge County, called Land Stewardship Project. He was very concerned about the impact such a huge operation would have on his community and the environment.

Organizer Adam Warthesen responded by asking Evan if there were other people concerned, and if he could bring them together to explore options for action. The citizens in Dodge County did come together. Since October 2002, with Land Stewardship Project's help, they have

• organized petition drives, collecting signatures of a majority of voting-age residents in each township opposed to factory farms and in favor of common sense local ordinances to control development;
• conducted an educational session for area township supervisors and citizens about township powers and zoning;
• used innovative approaches like meeting a corporate-backed PR tour of the intended factory farm site with a "Get Out of Dodge!" demonstration of local residents, to win the media battle;
• won two one-year moratoriums on factory farm development, in Ashland and Ripley Townships, giving the community time to develop longer-term policy on the kind of livestock development it wants;
• challenged the state agencies' rubber stamp approval process that virtually ignores citizens' environmental concerns;
• defended township powers in court from the opposition's legal strategies.

In short, Land Stewardship Project members in Dodge County used nonviolent, democratic means to address a critical issue affecting the health and welfare of their community. Meetings took place in town halls and over kitchen tables. Citizens discussed, planned, and took action. It's the way it's supposed to be.

To stop this effective democracy in action, proponents of factory farms have attempted to pass bills weakening township and community rights; introduced legislation that would punish members of organizations that oppose factory farms by preventing them from receiving certain state benefits; and brought lawsuits to intimidate local townships and residents to back off and let the factory farm go forward. They recruited Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty to lead the effort to weaken township and community rights, and started a high-powered media and lobbying campaign to win on the issue in 2005.

The good news is - despite the all-out effort from Big Ag, more and more citizens across the Upper Midwest are standing up for democracy in the most effective way possible - by putting it to use. LSP's manual for township citizens, When a Factory Farm Comes to Town, is sold out and we're busy updating and reprinting it. Citizens are deciding to run for local office to stand up for their beliefs. In Minnesota, the local democratic power of townships was preserved in the 2005 legislative session. The Ripley Dairy is still not built. Our common-sense message of democracy and responsible farming has gotten out locally and nationally - the New York Times even was paying attention, calling Governor Pawlenty's commission "a virtual cross section of industrial agriculture in the state" and their report "a blueprint for the destruction of family farming in Minnesota." We've even witnessed an increase in the number of farms in Minnesota, as more people begin to see the chance of a positive future in farming.

We are proud to say that we have won many battles against undemocratic corporate power, but we need your help to make the victories stick. Please join us.