A pair of Karcz family farms are expected to merge for a common livestock facility license and then double the number of cows raised on the two homesteads.
That was the proposal put forth at a Shawano County Land Conservation Department public informational meeting held Aug. 4 in Pulaski.
Karcz Nation, N3035 Willow Road, and Heifer Nation, W1455 Town Hall Drive, are operated by Dillon and Jacob Karcz. Both farms are in the Town of Angelica.
Karcz Nation currently has about 700 milking and dry cows, or 980 animal units. Heifer Nation has 100 springing heifers and 50 calves, or 120 animal units. This application would place both farms under a single livestock facility license and expand to 2,501 animal units.
The application also includes an odor management plan, a waste and nutrient management plan, a runoff management plan, an employee training plan, and an environmental incident and emergency response plan.
Several comments, concerns and questions from neighbors and others were aired at the meeting.
They included the amount of well water being pumped and utilized by the farm, soil erosion and runoff at the two farm sites, and safety on roads with semi-truck activity by the farms’ hired manure hauler.
There was a positive comment about the farm and their employees respecting their neighbors by their safe use of the roads.
Scott Frank, county conservationist, said the proposal met all the requirements in the livestock facility licensing ordinance.
The number of animals constituting an animal unit varies by species. For example, one milking dairy cow equals 1.4 animal units, while a beef animal more than 600 pounds equals one animal unit.
Under the proposal, the two farms would house 1,500 milking and dry cows; at 1.4 animal units per cow, that equals 2,100 animal units.
Heifers between 800 and 1,200 pounds each equal 1.1 animal units, so 116 heifers will equal 128 animal units. Heifers that weight 400-800 pounds equal 0.6 animal units, so the 342 heifers equal 205 animal units. Finally, the 342 calves (up to 400 pounds each) are 0.2 animal units each, for a total of 68 animal units.
This brings the total to 2,300 cows.
Currently, Karcz Nation has 980 animal units. Under the new plan, it will be home to 2,100 animal units, all of the milking and dry cows.
Heifer Nation currently has 98 animal units. The proposal will have the farm home to 401 animal units, all of them heifers and calves.
Karcz Nation was originally granted a livestock facility license for 986 animal units Oct. 6, 2021.
The farm conducts livestock activities at the two production sites.
The plan proposes new construction at Karcz Nation, including adding 90 feet to the east end of one freestall barn and adding 200 feet to the east end of a second freestall barn.
New construction at Heifer Nation includes building a new freestall barn and associated waste transfer system. An existing barn and waste transfer facility at the site would be abandoned.
Frank said Shawano County currently has about 20 farms of 500 cows or more. The sizes range from 880 to 14,515 animal units.
Written comments on the application will be accepted by Frank’s office until Aug. 14.
“A decision is required within 90 days after the LCD gives notice that the application is complete, which would be by Oct. 15,” Frank said. “These decisions are typically made within a couple weeks after the comment period, and as of now I am expecting it to be a similar time frame.”
The last request was by Krueger Dairy, west of Shawano, in March. That application was approved April 3.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
