Industrial Ag in the Driftless Area

On January 20, 2018, people gathered in Boscobel, Wisconsin to talk and learn about the unique geology of the Driftless area,* and how this fragility requires extra protection.  The main focus of this session was the advent of large animal feeding operations in the Driftless area and what these can mean to water resources.   The sessions at this workshop were video'ed by Daniel Folkman, who has made them available to the public on his YouTube feed.  Thanks, Daniel, for your work!

Blog editor's note:  This workshop was aimed at opposing the expansion of large animal agriculture in the Driftless area.  The talks are not balanced by other viewpoints, and do not necessarily represent the views of LWV Upper Mississippi River Region.  We present this here to share this information with our audience.  The purpose of LWV Upper Mississippi River Region is to protect and enhance water quality in the Mississippi River, it's tributaries and groundwater in the watershed.  We believe that ALL activities in the watershed should be protective of this precious resource.  

*The Driftless area is found where Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois intersect.  Here, deep valleys and steep slopes make the landscape dramatically different from other Midwestern vistas.  This area was not covered by glaciers like the rest of the region, so the soil is much more shallow and bedrock is exposed in many areas.  Water resources are abundant here, both surface and groundwater, but the shallow soil means that there is little protection for the water from land surface activities.  The Mississippi River is the heart of this region, flowing from north to south.  This Wikipedia reference provides a more detail on this region.  

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