This case was a dispute over the dramatic expansion of a dairy operation. The authority of local government hung in the balance. In a bid to get around the clear will of the people for the economic benefit of just a few, Daley Farm sought to divide the people of Winona County, MN, by spreading falsehoods about the work of Land Stewardship Project, a sustainable ag champion across Minnesota.
FarmSTAND represented LSP at the appellate level of its intervention in a lawsuit by Daley Farm against the county. The factory farm operator was twice denied a permit to expand its dairy operation by the local government, due to a law limiting the size of agricultural operation feedlots within Winona County.
Rather than accept those denials, Daley Farm sued Winona County’s government, claiming that the rejections were biased and the result of a conspiracy. They claimed that the county’s permit denial was invalid because some members of local government have connections to Land Stewardship Project: an organization that works across Minnesota to promote sustainable agriculture and develop healthy communities. Daley Farm lost its suit, but appealed.
FarmSTAND fought alongside LSP at the appellate level of this case because what Daley Farm attempted to do through the courts is a harbinger of what agribusiness wants to do to more rural communities around America. We cannot allow smear campaigns against those potentially harmed by the presence of a factory farm in their vicinity to render local environmental laws unenforceable. In a victory for LSP and rural communities in Minnesota, the appeals court affirmed the lower court’s ruling and the Minnesota Supreme Court denied Daley Farm’s petition for further review of the decision.
FarmSTAND is appellate counsel for LSP, working with Public Justice and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (counsel for fellow intervenor Defenders of Drinking Water) on this case.