Pagels’ farm seeks success and combats carbon production

MARINETTE COUNTY – While some dairy farmers cherish a manageable 50-cow herd, the Pagels went big.

The dairy farm John Pagel grew up on had 65 cows, a step up from what his grandfather started with: eight cows, hogs and chickens, he said.

Today, the Pagels have 12,500 cows in northeast Wisconsin and have installed technology to manage the manure piles by converting them to biogas in digesters.

Mega dairy farms are spreading across northeast Wisconsin, where about 125 Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs, are operating, according to Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources data.

The Pagels’ Coleman Ponderosa at N2727 23rd Road, is the largest dairy farm in Marinette County, with about 6,500 cows, DNR said.

The Pagels’ cows live at farms in Coleman, Kewaunee and Mishikot. The family operates large dairy farms dedicated to milking and smaller ones where the cows roam free and produce the next herd of offspring. Pregnant cows are treated with extra special care.

More dairy cows consolidated on mega farms have resulted in more manure than is needed for fertilizer. But the Pagels have found new uses for the waste. In Coleman, a newer operation for the Pagels, a digester built to convert the manure into electricity produces a bedding for the cows’ stalls. It’s easier to transport than raw manure. It also reduces the odor a large pile of manure produces.

In Kewaunee, the digested manure becomes the foundation for Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). It’s trucked to Newton and Manitowoc, then sent via pipeline to California as the local market for RNG hasn’t been developed yet, Pagel said.

The Pagels have worked with Detroit Energy (DTE ) to earn carbon credits for the methane. “Our main job is to get them the methane from our digester. They pay us for the methane from our digester and make it into natural gas,” Pagels said. The gas can be used to fuel electric generation equipment or for renewable natural gas, an alternative energy, DTE Energy said.

The digesters come in many sizes and shapes, from a covered lagoon to a below-ground tank. The cost ranges from a few hundred thousand dollars to several million, depending on the number of cows on the farm and the digester’s size, said Dave Akerly, a senior communications strategist at DTE Energy. Farms with digesters often avoid using sand, as it can accumulate in the digester and require cleaning, he said.

Not all digesters are the same, said Nick Cioll, chief executive officer at Progressive Energy. The best digesters capture about 96% of methane and kill the bacteria, he said. “So the stuff that comes out the back side is bacteria free and pretty sterile,” he explained. “Digesters will solve your well contamination program,” he said.

How did Pagels go from 65 cows to 12,500? “We’ve always been motivated,” Pagel said. “Growing the farm meant growing opportunities for employees,” he said. “We were excited we were able to create opportunities for the families that worked for us.’”

The excitement Pagel enjoys isn’t felt by neighbors like Michele DeWitt, an accountant who lives in the Town of Pound. “So many cows on one farm isn’t natural, and it can bring unintended consequences,” DeWitt said.

Allowing dairy farms to balloon in size could put the groundwater at risk of contamination, she said. “The primary issue immediately is the water,” she explained, noting the cows on CAFOs drink so much water, it can affect the amount of water available to neighboring towns.

When the Pagels were expanding, DeWitt encouraged the Town of Pound Town Board to do more research before allowing the mega farms and digesters. The Pagels published a notice in the Peshtigo Times about its plans, but DeWitt said, “It didn’t feel very neighborly. Isn’t it appropriate to at least inform the neighbors?”

Curt Tisler, Town of Pound Board Chair, said the Pagels completed the proper steps to build the digesters and expand their herds. “We had to approve the building structures to be bigger. We were aware of their plans,” he said. “I have not personally as town chair received a complaint about that,” he said. The DNR regulates the wastewater permits involved, he said.

In a tough environment for dairy farming, the Pagels have purchased local farms in bankruptcy or when the owners were ready to sell, he said.

Growing the business has meant buying feed and supplies in bulk to cut costs and applying for programs to save money. They’ve also purchased other farms or their herds. They did it through cooperation, not by coercion, Pagel said. By adding a digester at Pagel’s Ponderosa, the Pagels have avoided the kind of manure issues other farms might contend with.

With many people criticizing dairy farmers for expanding their herds into the thousands, Pagel said consolidation has helped to make dairy farming sustainable. The fourth-generation family business encourages small farms to work with it to raise heifers or feed.

“Whether farms [are] big or small, we’re all trying to do the best we can to provide nutritious and delicious produce for people to enjoy throughout the world,” Pagel said.

While the Pagels have learned how to make the most of dairy farming, dairy industry consolidation has left behind or bought out many small farms.
With dairy farming pressured to grow, many farmers are exiting the business, often by selling to larger farms.

Marinette County neighbors in varying walks of life bemoan the disappearing 50-cow farm that once dotted every corner of the map in rural Marinette and Oconto counties. Megafarms and the manure they produce – aren’t always the most appealing neighbors.

“This is a huge problem. It’s the tip of the iceberg how far this goes. I spoke with some legislators, and you can’t touch it. The lobbying behind it is so strong. You have to be very careful when you are trying to intervene with a lucrative income stream,” said DeWitt who said the large farms are more likely to qualify for low-cost loans subsidized by the government in a form of preferential treatment. She wonders why the government doesn’t do more to support small family farms.

Dairy farms of all sizes should look for government programs for expansion, Pagel said. “There’s a lot of grants out there for smaller dairies interested in getting into something, whether it’s a digester or something else,” Pagel said.

“It’s all done legally,” Portier said. “You can’t tell anybody what to do on their land. We ain’t in a position to tell someone how to run a business.”

Cioll at Progressive Energy said he sees both sides of the issue. “I understand people are against CAFOs,” Cioll said. “I’m kind of a health food nut myself. I get where they’re coming from. I’m sympathetic to their cause. These big farms have driven down production costs so much,” he said, making it more difficult for smaller farms to compete.