A Look at CAFOs Part 3: The Farmer
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Daniel [email protected]
Despite an influx of books and movies such as Food Inc. and “Fast Food Nation” gaining popularity among people opposed to what they call “factory farming,” Fred Beer’s farm doesn’t look much different from a nearby farm southwest of Milford.
Beer, along with his son Jeff, operates Kosciusko County’s largest dairy barn. He has 700 dairy cows on his property.
Beer said he’s been aware of the discussion, letters and articles concerning CAFO expansion in the county.
He took issue with the notion that the CAFO industry is under-regulated.
Beer pulled out stacks of 4-inch thick binders of information he compiled while applying for his CAFO in fall 2006.
Due to all the procedures Beer had to follow, he wasn’t permitted until September 2007, which led to his operation finally getting off the ground in spring 2008.
Beer said he didn’t see nearly two years of testing, procedures and reports, all at a cost to him, as a lack of regulation.
Beer is a completely independent farmer. He said he didn’t make the decision based on pressure from some out-of-state company. He didn’t use his son to get a first-time farm loan.
“It can be a way to go broke real fast,” said Beer of starting a CAFO. “It takes a big investment to do it.”
Beer has been farming for 37 years. He started with 25 dairy cows on the same property he’s on now.
“We’ve grown into this,” said Beer, who lives on the property with his wife in a two-story farmhouse.
Beer said that not every farmer needs to operate a CAFO but for him it made fiscal sense to move toward a larger operation.
“If I could live off $5,000-$6,000 a year I would,” said Beer.
Beer is also an employer with his farm. He has 12 full-time staff and operates a $600,000 payroll.
“I feel like it gives an opportunity for (them) to make a living and provide something to the community,” said Beer.
He also operates a business with huge expense. One new piece of equipment Beer purchased cost $65,000.
The cows are milked three times a day, live in climate-controlled free stalls with about 84 or 96 in each pen.
Beer distributes his products to Prairie Farms. If you buy a carton of milk from Martin’s you’re most likely drinking milk that came from one of Beer’s cows.
In fact, Beer said 60 percent of all milk produced comes from operations with more than 500 cows.
Speaking of his cows, each one, said Beer, is about a $6,000 investment.
“You need more livestock to bring cost down,” said Beer.
Beer said he’s had no issues with neighbors.
As for water issues, the lagoons on his property are tested and there have been no documented complaints against Beer’s farm through the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
One lagoon holds 2 million gallons while the other holds 8 million.
Beer said he feels there is a negative connotation to the term “factory farming.”
“I do take exception with ‘factory farming’. Not too many counties are this agriculturally friendly. They are all family farms. That’s impressive to me. We’re not moving in. This is where we grew up. It’s a continuation of what generations of families have been doing,” said Beer.
In terms of manure, Beer said its calculated based on how much a cow ingests.
“It’s a balance,” said Beer.
Beer said he knew there was always a potential for something to go wrong.
He also admitted that there are some farmers that hurt the reputation of farmers across the board.
But, Beer said, with the family farming atmosphere in Kosciusko County, it’d be unfair to paint local farmers with that broad brush.
As for over application of manure, Beer said it’d be too expensive to do so.
Farmers also have pointed out that over application would enrich the soil too much and keep crops from growing.
During the discussions and reports, one thing that struck him was that those against CAFOs claimed IDEM rubber stamped such ventures.
“When we first started we didn’t qualify,” said Beer. “We had to have engineers sign off on designs before we could do anything else. You can’t do any thing to cut corners.”
While Beer cited financial reasons to move toward a CAFO, he also had personal ones.
“It’s a seven-day-a-week job,” said Beer. “You have to work Sunday afternoons. Once I expanded not everyone had to work every weekend. For the first time in 37 years I had a stable schedule to be with my family.
“It’s not absolutely necessary to build (a CAFO), there are people that get by who don’t. But for us it made sense,” said Beer.
“Also I think people have this idea of the small family farm. And that just isn’t the case anymore,” said Beer.
For someone who went through the process of building a CAFO, Beer said there is more than people think.
“It takes a lot more time than you think. It takes more money, more help,” said Beer.
And now that he has one up?
“We have a vet service that comes in. We have a nutritionist that comes in. These people all live in the county,” said Beer. “I feel like, I hope I’m providing something valuable to our community.”[[In-content Ad]]
Despite an influx of books and movies such as Food Inc. and “Fast Food Nation” gaining popularity among people opposed to what they call “factory farming,” Fred Beer’s farm doesn’t look much different from a nearby farm southwest of Milford.
Beer, along with his son Jeff, operates Kosciusko County’s largest dairy barn. He has 700 dairy cows on his property.
Beer said he’s been aware of the discussion, letters and articles concerning CAFO expansion in the county.
He took issue with the notion that the CAFO industry is under-regulated.
Beer pulled out stacks of 4-inch thick binders of information he compiled while applying for his CAFO in fall 2006.
Due to all the procedures Beer had to follow, he wasn’t permitted until September 2007, which led to his operation finally getting off the ground in spring 2008.
Beer said he didn’t see nearly two years of testing, procedures and reports, all at a cost to him, as a lack of regulation.
Beer is a completely independent farmer. He said he didn’t make the decision based on pressure from some out-of-state company. He didn’t use his son to get a first-time farm loan.
“It can be a way to go broke real fast,” said Beer of starting a CAFO. “It takes a big investment to do it.”
Beer has been farming for 37 years. He started with 25 dairy cows on the same property he’s on now.
“We’ve grown into this,” said Beer, who lives on the property with his wife in a two-story farmhouse.
Beer said that not every farmer needs to operate a CAFO but for him it made fiscal sense to move toward a larger operation.
“If I could live off $5,000-$6,000 a year I would,” said Beer.
Beer is also an employer with his farm. He has 12 full-time staff and operates a $600,000 payroll.
“I feel like it gives an opportunity for (them) to make a living and provide something to the community,” said Beer.
He also operates a business with huge expense. One new piece of equipment Beer purchased cost $65,000.
The cows are milked three times a day, live in climate-controlled free stalls with about 84 or 96 in each pen.
Beer distributes his products to Prairie Farms. If you buy a carton of milk from Martin’s you’re most likely drinking milk that came from one of Beer’s cows.
In fact, Beer said 60 percent of all milk produced comes from operations with more than 500 cows.
Speaking of his cows, each one, said Beer, is about a $6,000 investment.
“You need more livestock to bring cost down,” said Beer.
Beer said he’s had no issues with neighbors.
As for water issues, the lagoons on his property are tested and there have been no documented complaints against Beer’s farm through the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
One lagoon holds 2 million gallons while the other holds 8 million.
Beer said he feels there is a negative connotation to the term “factory farming.”
“I do take exception with ‘factory farming’. Not too many counties are this agriculturally friendly. They are all family farms. That’s impressive to me. We’re not moving in. This is where we grew up. It’s a continuation of what generations of families have been doing,” said Beer.
In terms of manure, Beer said its calculated based on how much a cow ingests.
“It’s a balance,” said Beer.
Beer said he knew there was always a potential for something to go wrong.
He also admitted that there are some farmers that hurt the reputation of farmers across the board.
But, Beer said, with the family farming atmosphere in Kosciusko County, it’d be unfair to paint local farmers with that broad brush.
As for over application of manure, Beer said it’d be too expensive to do so.
Farmers also have pointed out that over application would enrich the soil too much and keep crops from growing.
During the discussions and reports, one thing that struck him was that those against CAFOs claimed IDEM rubber stamped such ventures.
“When we first started we didn’t qualify,” said Beer. “We had to have engineers sign off on designs before we could do anything else. You can’t do any thing to cut corners.”
While Beer cited financial reasons to move toward a CAFO, he also had personal ones.
“It’s a seven-day-a-week job,” said Beer. “You have to work Sunday afternoons. Once I expanded not everyone had to work every weekend. For the first time in 37 years I had a stable schedule to be with my family.
“It’s not absolutely necessary to build (a CAFO), there are people that get by who don’t. But for us it made sense,” said Beer.
“Also I think people have this idea of the small family farm. And that just isn’t the case anymore,” said Beer.
For someone who went through the process of building a CAFO, Beer said there is more than people think.
“It takes a lot more time than you think. It takes more money, more help,” said Beer.
And now that he has one up?
“We have a vet service that comes in. We have a nutritionist that comes in. These people all live in the county,” said Beer. “I feel like, I hope I’m providing something valuable to our community.”[[In-content Ad]]
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