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Winnipeg Free Press
11-06-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Environmentalists on both sides of border fear impact of planned North Dakota dairy farms on Lake Winnipeg
Two massive dairy farms planned just south of the border in North Dakota could deliver a devastating blow to Lake Winnipeg and its already fragile ecosystem, environmental and animal advocates warned Wednesday. 'There's a need to really get the awareness out there,' said James Beddome, the former leader of the Green Party of Manitoba and current executive director of the Manitoba Eco-Network. Beddome said he doesn't think most Manitobans are aware of the plans, saying he learned of them in March. 'I'm hoping we are going to see Manitobans speak up and have their voices heard,' he said. 'It's going to take a community… a coalition to stop this.' The operations — one near Abercrombie Township south of Fargo, and another near Hillsboro south of Grand Forks — will generate hundreds of millions of litres of manure annually. That waste, advocates say, will flow upstream into the Red River, threatening to overwhelm one of the world's most endangered lakes and undo decades of restoration work. 'Between inexact manure-spreading protocols, vagaries of flooding, spring melts and heavy rains, nutrients and other pollutants will enter the Red River and proceed downstream, ultimately ending up in Lake Winnipeg,' Madeline Luke of the Dakota Resource Council in North Dakota said at The Forks Wednesday. Riverview LLP, a Minnesota-based company, is behind both projects. The Abercrombie facility — already permitted — will house 12,500 milking cows. The Hillsboro site, twice the size, is awaiting approval. To handle the waste, the farms plan to store manure in massive lagoons — equivalent in size to 52 Canadian football fields — and spread it once a year as fertilizer. But their proximity to the Red River and its tributaries puts surrounding waterways at risk if lagoons fail or overflow. 'Our North Dakota farms will be designed, built, and operated to protect surface waters and prevent water pollution,' a spokesperson for Riverview LLP said in an email Wednesday, adding the plans have been viewed and approved by North Dakota's Department of Environmental Quality. 'All manure will be collected and stored on-site in synthetically-covered lagoons for responsible land application on an annual basis. This manure will be tilled into the soil on surrounding farmland as organic fertilizer, which replaces commercial fertilizers that would otherwise be used on this land. 'Riverview's goal is to always be good neighbours, which includes farming in a manner that protects our shared water resources and the environment.' Luke, however, warned of real-world examples from other U.S. states, where storms or equipment failures have turned manure lagoons into environmental disasters, including flooding in Iowa last summer that breached manure pits and washed animal waste, bacteria, parasites, viruses and nitrates into nearby rivers. 'The same practices that make milk production profitable… also make it a perfect place for the spreading of viruses and, also, mutations,' she said. Luke emphasized the fact that pollution doesn't stop at the border, meaning potential problems in North Dakota are also problems in Manitoba. 'Lake Winnipeg is running out of time,' she said. The lake has long suffered from rising levels of phosphorus and nitrogen, fuelling toxic blue-green algae blooms and earning a reputation as one of the world's most threatened freshwater bodies. Luke joined members of the Coalition to Save Lake Winnipeg, Animal Justice, the Save Lake Winnipeg Project and the Manitoba Eco-Network in a meeting with provincial Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes. 'Minister Moyes was very receptive, actually — we were very impressed with how much he already knew and he asked really relevant questions,' said Vicki Burns, director of the Save Lake Winnipeg Project. 'But in a way, he has very little control. This requires input from the federal government in order to really urge the International Joint Commission to become involved.' The IJC, under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909, established joint phosphorus loading targets in 2022. For the Red River, the target was set at 1,400 tonnes per year. But Manitoba's latest report shows that an average of 2,500 tonnes per year — nearly double the limit — is already coming from the U.S. Beddome said the IJC was sent a letter in April and has confirmed its engineers are reviewing the proposed farms. 'But we need public noise to push our politicians and push corporate stewards to be more responsible and hopefully push some action south of the border,' he said. Getting people to care south of the border is a difficult problem, said Luke, adding that water wells for Abercrombie residents will be immediately threatened, with seepage from the lagoon infiltrating within 18 months. 'One community (Abercrombie) has been fighting this very hard, while the other has welcomed it with open arms,' she said. The Hillsboro farm is expected to use a deeper aquifer, and there aren't as many people living close by, she said. Weekday Mornings A quick glance at the news for the upcoming day. Luke said North Dakota's government is in favour of the projects, as it wants to be a leader in dairy farming. A request for comment from the state was not returned Wednesday, nor were similar requests to the Canadian government or IJC. Burns, meanwhile, said two decades' worth of advocacy for Lake Winnipeg hasn't led to much progress. But she's not giving up. 'We're not at a point of no return, but there's no time to waste,' she said. Scott BilleckReporter Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade's worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. Read more about Scott. Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. 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CTV News
11-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Organizations concerned about planned dairy farms in North Dakota and impact on watershed in Manitoba
Several organizations are joining forces to raise concerns about a potential dairy industry expansion in North Dakota that could impact the watershed in Manitoba. There are plans for a 25,000-cow farm in Trail County and a 12,500-cow farm in Richland County, both of which would be along the Red River. Organizations in Manitoba and North Dakota are concerned about what these farms could mean for pollution and the health of the Red River and Lake Winnipeg. 'We recognize that watersheds don't respect political boundaries and that, particularly, our watershed that ends in Lake Winnipeg covers four provinces and I think two or three states in the United States. So it's a massive watershed area, and obviously, what happens in North Dakota serves to impact us here in Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg in particular,' said James Beddome, the executive director of Manitoba Eco-Network. Madeline Luke—a retired internal medicine doctor and now a volunteer with the Dakota Resource Council—said having so many cattle in a small area that is near a significant water source can provide a number of health concerns for people and animals. 'I've come to understand the value of working in the framework of One Health. One Health is an approach that recognizes the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment. Unfortunately, putting 37,500 dairy cows in confined barns in two projects close to the Red River is in direct contradiction to this,' said Luke. She warned millions of gallons of waste could end up in the Red River every year that could carry harmful bacteria like E. coli. On top of the impact on humans, Luke said excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus could enter the water as well as hormones and antibiotics. 'Between inexact manure spreading protocols, the vagaries of flooding, spring melts and heavy rains, nutrients and other pollutants will enter the Red River and proceed downstream, ultimately ending in Lake Winnipeg.' Vicki Burns, the director of the Save Lake Winnipeg Project, also touched on the increased nutrients in the water, saying it will lead to blue-green algae blooms in Lake Winnipeg. 'I actually grew up on the shores of Lake Winnipeg and had a cottage there. We used to swim in all kinds of pea soup algae, but that was not the blue-green algae that we need now,' said Burns. 'A lot of it contains really dangerous toxins to both humans and animals, and all life that depends on Lake Winnipeg.' During the news conference Wednesday, speakers mentioned the International Joint Commission, which is an organization that deals with water disputes between Canada and the United States and also gives advice to governments on water management and protecting the environment. Luke said the provincial government should bring this issue up with the commission so steps can be taken to protect Manitoba waters. CTV News Winnipeg has reached out to the province for comment and is awaiting a response.
