The dairy farmers in the Minnesota dairy town of Muncie are gearing up to fight back against plans to build a $3.3 billion dairy farm there.
Muncie is one of the poorest and most rural parts of Minnesota, and is home to a large community of mostly farm workers.
The proposed dairy project would have a total of eight acres, which would include a 10,000-square-foot dairy barn, and would be built near a popular swimming pool.
Margo Peterson, president of the Minnesota Farm Bureau, the local farm labor union, says the proposal is an attempt to bring millions of dollars of subsidies to the area, which currently relies on subsidies from the state.
She says the proposed dairy would destroy the livelihoods of farmers and rural residents in Muncies rural setting, which relies on dairy products for more than 90 percent of its income.
Peterson says the dairy is a bad idea because it would destroy rural Minnesota, which has been home to dairy farming since the 1800s.
She points to an article in the local paper that details how Muncys dairy farmers rely on federal subsidies for their livelihoods.
The article explains that Muncrieans farmers are among the lowest-paid in the state and that their wages are not sufficient to cover the costs of living.
The proposed dairy will be located just two miles from Muncietown, a small town where Peterson lives.
The project would also bring to the farm area one of Minnesota’s most valuable commodities: corn.
Farmers in Munies dairy towns have been protesting the dairy project for years.
A petition from the farmers is currently circulating on the Farmers Union website.
The farmers’ petition says that the proposed farm would “put millions of our farm workers out of work” and that the proposal will create a “major economic and ecological threat” to the region.
The proposal is also facing resistance from a group of rural farmers, who have been organizing to oppose the project for several years.
The group, called MNFarmers, has been fighting the dairy proposal for years and is expected to launch a campaign this week to get the proposed site voted down.
They are also asking the state legislature to ban the project.