Land near Oconto Falls schools will continue as farmland for now

The Oconto Falls School Board is entering into an agreement with a local farmer to continue leasing land along County Road I for at least two more years.

The family that owned approximately 106 acres across from Oconto Falls High School and Oconto Falls Elementary School offered it to the school district about two years ago and closed on the sale this summer.

The board took the offer because it expects to have a conversation about upgrading or replacing aging Washington Middle School within three years, and the transaction gives the district a place to build a new middle school should the community agree.

In the meantime the farmer, Roger Blaser, who leased about 79 acres of the land from previous owner Joan Gauthier, has expressed an interest in continuing until a longer-term decision is made.

The board discussed a two-year lease with Blaser Farms for about 70 acres of tillable acres, or nine fewer acres than before. Superintendent Dean Hess noted that when the purchase went through, the seller asked at the last minute to keep four acres.

“The other piece was that FFA has requested that we have five acres sectioned off for our students and ag teachers to be developing as part of their curriculum,” Hess said.

The superintendent said he did have a conversation with Blaser because, during his first year with the Oconto Falls district, some especially pungent liquid manure was spread over the land across the road.

“I came to work that day and had an oh-my-god experience and thought, ‘What happened?’” Hess said. “That (smell) stuck around for two or three days. We actually had a concert in the Performing Arts Center, and it was intense.”

During conversations about the lease, Blaser told him he remembered that incident and that the manure had been applied at a time when a strong east wind was blowing the aroma toward the schools.

“Ninety percent of the time, we have a west-northwesterly wind in Wisconsin,” Hess noted. “He said, ‘If I had to do it all over again, I would make an effort to make sure we don’t spread it with an east wind.’”

Blaser agreed to rent the land at $100 an acre per year, or $140 per acre if he plans to apply liquid manure again, with a stipulation that only one spreading would occur during the two years of the contract.

The board agreed to let Blaser decide whether he wants to keep the manure-spreading option open. Board member Ken Harter said he’s confident the farmer will take the steps required to prevent a repeat of the odoriferous previous experience.

“He’s a very conscientious person,” Harter said.