Please Don't Quote Me Father Dixon, Jon Dixon that is, said that the recording of history should be accurate, not pretty. Don't skew the facts to make a better story, in other words. It should be what it was. After all, truth is stranger than fiction and a lot more interesting. We remind ourselves of that in the writing of this article because even after six-to-eight years of collecting material and being determined that the results did not have the local connection that I wanted, only a slight one, it came down to just telling about a one-time well-known person who did accomplish a lot in a life unknown to most of us.
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Farming is Our FutureTony Carton for The Prairie AdvocateNearly 100 area residents working in support of agriculture in Northwest Illinois met Saturday at the Tony Berning farm near Galena to discuss their current project: the Traditions Dairy. Dairyman A. J. Bos is developing the Traditions Dairy on a 1200-acre site near Nora, Illinois. Bos says the dairy will house 4000 cows, employ 40 workers, and provide economic relief to an area especially hard hit by the current financial turmoil. Opponents say otherwise, and on October 20, 2008, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Associate Judge Kevin J. Ward granted a preliminary injunction restraining and enjoining Bos from operating his dairy, stabling or confining more than 199 animals or dairy cows, and operating any of the waste storage structure. Berning said he invited Bos, State Representative Jim Sacia, (R-89th), former State Representative I. Ronald Lawfer, and the organization Farms for our Future to his farm to discuss threats to agriculture in Illinois. Farms for Our Future is a coalition of local businesses, farmers and families who support growth for agriculture in the Midwest. "I think we made more people aware of the problems with livestock agriculture in Jo Daviess County and the State of Illinois," Berning said following the event. "There are people in this county and state that don't like animal agriculture and they have a lot of money to spend, a lot of time on their hands, and they can hijack a project." Berning said he thinks the Traditions Dairy will be good for Jo Daviess County. "In the terms of the tax dollars and jobs it will bring to our county the dairy is definitely a good thing," he noted. "If you go on to consider the peripheral service industries that stand to benefit, the impact is going to be huge." Maintaining a balanceBos agreed and noted the importance of maintaining a balance between Jo Daviess County's strong tourism economy and its strong agricultural economy as a reason to support farming in the area. "I think it is in the county's best interest to keep both sectors of the economy strong," Bos said. Bos is a third generation dairy farmer and speaks proudly of his family's dairy heritage tracing his own involvement to a dairy built in the 1990's by his father and grandfather near Mira Loma, California. "I moved into the Bakersfield area to continue dairying there and now I'm looking to build a facility here in Northwest Illinois," he said. "Feed prices and the economics of dairying are better here." He added that while there are new environmental regulations in California causing some livestock operations to leave the state, economics remain his primary reason for "moving east." Court proceedingsBos, his supporters and their opposition will meet in Jo Daviess County Court Monday to begin hearings on whether the judge will require the plaintiffs in the recently successful temporary injunction case to post a bond. A bond would protect Bos and the Traditions Dairy from economic loss should they prevail in court, but while it is not unusual for the courts to set bonds in injunction cases, there is no set guideline covering amount, and since Ward warned Bos that he would be continuing at his own risk early in the proceedings, the possibility exists that Ward will require no bond. Much of the injunction case rests on the question of the potential for damage to the environment. Bos said that repeated soil core tests show no new results since Stockton-based well specialist Larry Lyons first took samples in the fall of 2007. Since that time, Illinois Geological Survey Staff Member Sam Panno received sample cores from IDOA requested tests including cores from diagonal borings amounting to a minimum of twenty horizontal feet and in excess of twenty feet below the planned pond bottom. Terracon, an independent engineering consulting company collected the samples. They found no evidence of karstification in those borings, however Panno testified during the injunction hearings that the area was karst and not safe for nutrient storage. Later, while issuing the injunction, Ward cited Panno's testimony as crucial to his decision. Karst is a special type of landscape formed by the dissolution of soluble rocks, including limestone and dolomite. Karst regions contain aquifers that are capable of providing large supplies of water. More than 25 percent of the world's population either lives on or obtains its water from karst aquifers. In the United States, 20 percent of the land surface is karst and 40 percent of the groundwater used for drinking comes from karst aquifers. "Mr Panno never visited the Traditions site to my knowledge," Bos said. "I would think he would have to ask my permission to visit there, but he never has. We have made a standing offer to him to visit, but he has never contacted us." Other issues cited in the injunction include health and economics, but Nic Anderson of the Illinois Livestock Development said during Saturday's gathering that much of the opposition stems from animal rights groups. "I have dealt with these groups before, and I can tell when they show up on the scene because almost overnight, everything changes," Anderson told those in attendance. "The language changes, the strategies change, and the whole situation becomes inflamed. These groups prey on people's fears, and they feed them misinformation." Following the meeting, Bos replied to questions about rumors of a proposed golf community at the site. "You know, this is not the first time I've heard about another proposed use for the land," Bos said. "I don't know anything about another bidder or if there even was one, but since it keeps coming up it does make you wonder if there isn't some other motivation for at least some of the opposition." Former State Representative and working dairyman I. Ron Lawfer said simply that the Traditions Dairy is a good fit for Jo Daviess County. "I think you can see its importance from the number of dairy farmers that are here today supporting the project," Lawfer said. "There is more than just dairy farming at stake here. Look at the processing plants that we have here and the veterinarian offices here, and all the support businesses that are here. When you see that the auto industry is downsizing and the economy is down, here is a chance for some employment, and to utilize crops and forages that we raise here. We don't have to ship our products down the river. We can use them right here." And last week in courtLast Wednesday, nine of the eleven Plaintiffs asking to withdraw from the suit seeking a permanent injunction against the Traditions Dairy dropped their motion to vacate. Judge Ward allowed plaintiffs Ron and Dawn Tomlinson to leave on the condition they reimburse the court for fees amounting to $80 required by their motion. The judge also struck a motion to depose one of the witnesses for Monday's bond hearing citing a lack of proper notice. The witness has more time to send an affidavit and if necessary, will appear later during the bond hearing. The Monday bond hearing will open at 9 A.M. in the Jo Daviess County Courthouse, Courtroom 1 and is expected to last for several days. Learn more at: www.farmsforourfuture.org, www.stopthemegadairy.org, or http://www.judici.com/courts/cases/case_information.jsp?court= IL043015J&ocl=IL043015J,2008CH42,IL043015JL2008CH42P1.
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