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Urgent: Your Calls Needed Now to Halt Construction of a Massive Factory Farm in Jo Daviess County!

Dairy cows on factory farms endure lives of intensive confinement and relentless production marked by continual impregnation and birth. Aside from the massive animal cruelty they generate, dairy factory farms pollute our air and water, endanger our health and drive out small, family farmers.

Dairy cows are typically injected with hormones, fed antibiotics and produce tens of thousands of gallons of waste a year, which is stored in giant manure lagoons that can be as big as football fields. People living near these factory dairy operations often report a multitude of health problems, including respiratory difficulties, as they are forced to breathe air contaminated with ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. And all of this may soon be coming to a town near you.

In Jo Daviess, the County Board recently rejected an application from an out-of-state businessman to build a 10,000-head dairy factory farm in the county. However, the approval process has moved to the Illinois Department of Agriculture and it is feared that state officials may ignore the vote of the local board and approve the facility, bringing a massive new repository of animal cruelty and pollution into Illinois.

The proposed, 10,000-head dairy factory farm for Jo Daviess County, Ill., would be the largest factory farm in the state. It would create a 70-acre manure lagoon located just upstream of the Apple River State Park-a situation that would imperil the county's water supply. The massive amount of waste generated by such a facility would risk seriously damaging the aquifer and generally ruin the pristine nature of this entire area of Illinois.

What you can do:
For the animals, people and the environment, please take a moment to speak out against this proposed mega dairy. Let the decision makers know that a factory dairy farm is not welcome in Jo Daviess County or anywhere else in Illinois.

1. Please call and email Governor Rod Blagojevich and let him know that you want him to protect the people, animals and environment of Illinois, and to say no to the proposed A.J. Bos mega dairy farm in Jo Daviess County or anywhere in Illinois. Here is a sample of what you can say, and to add a little more, see the talking points below.

   "Hi, my name is (your name) and I am an Illinois resident. I am calling to urge the Governor to ensure that the Department of Agriculture follows its own guidelines and rejects the application by A.J. Bos to build a 10,000-head dairy factory farm in Jo Daviess County. Can you tell me what the governor's position is on this issue?"

2. Contact Acting Director Tom Jennings of the Illinois Department of Agriculture, and politely let him know your objections to the proposed facility.
3. If you have just a moment more, please contact your state legislators and let them know that you do not want any factory farms in Illinois-in particular the 10,000-head dairy farm proposed by out-of-state investor A.J. Bos. You can identify your elected officials and find their contact information at http://www.elections.illinois.gov/DistrictLocator/

   Thank you for taking action today!

Talking Points:

• Members of the Jo Daviess County board voted to deny the application for the proposed dairy, and their decision should be upheld since the negative consequences of this factory farm directly impacts their community.
• The 10,000-head factory dairy farm proposed for Jo Daviess County will generate a massive amount of waste which can damage the aquifer and pollute surrounding rivers and streams.
• People living near factory dairy operations have reported a multitude of health problems, including respiratory difficulties, as they are forced to breathe air contaminated with ammonia and hydrogen sulfide emissions from the manure lagoons.
• The noxious odors from the proposed dairy factory farm will drive away tourists and decrease property values, while the company profits will go to California.
• Manure "lagoon" breaches and leaks and runoff from sprayfields have killed fish, depleted oxygen in water, contaminated drinking water, and threatened aquatic life.
• Animals on factory farms suffer from a deplorable state of continual confinement and relentless production. In a healthy environment, cows would live in excess of 20 years, but on modern dairies, cows are considered useless after just three to four years when the demands of maximum milk production take a toll on their bodies.
• In California, where dairies are the number one point source of environmental pollution, a spill from the Heritage Dairy in 2003 spewed 1.3 million gallons of manure into the Sacramento River, tainting waterways up and down the state.
• After a pipe burst from a manure lagoon of a factory dairy farm in Walkersville, Maryland in January 2008, an estimated half million gallons of liquid manure seeped into the town's water supply. The town's water became so contaminated with harmful bacteria that residents were forced to boil their water and buy bottled water.

You can read more about the Jo Daviess County proposed factory farm at www.stopthemegadairy.org.