Gehl Farms threatens to sell nearly 400 acres in Nashotah and Delafield after municipalities change manure spreading laws

When John Gehl, owner of Gehl Farmland Investments LLC, bought two farms from the Nashotah House Seminary in 2016, it was celebrated as a great way to preserve open, rural land in the quickly developing Lake Country. 

But now, residents are upset over Gehl farms' manure-spreading practices, which in some cases were carried out improperly, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.  

As a result, Gehl has threatened to sell the two farms, totaling 260 acres, and another 130 acres of land he owns in partnership with Mertin Farms, after both Nashotah and city of Delafield created laws prohibiting farms from importing manure from farms outside each municipality.

In August 2017, hundreds of tanker trucks imported between 4 million and 5 million gallons of manure from Ixonia to the farms, which run along Mission Avenue. 

The DNR later issued a notice of noncompliance to Tag Lane Dairy in Ixonia, which facilitated the manure application on the farmland.

"We know that some of the manure was applied properly, but there were things that didn’t go properly," said JoJo Gehl-Neumann, a family member who helps run the farm.

"We were ready to work with the village and the city to make sure everything was done properly in the future, but instead, they passed laws without giving us a heads-up."

New manure-spreading laws

On Jan. 15, Delafield's common council passed an ordinance that mandates fertilizer, including manure, must originate within the municipal border. The law also removes the possibility of manure being spread in mass quantities.

"We have other farmers who produce their own manure who are still able to spread it in the city of Delafield," Mayor Kent Attwell said. 

On March 7, Nashotah's village board passed a similar ordinance.

"John Gehl demanded that we rescind the ordinance within 90 days or he would put the property on the market on Sept. 1," said Nashotah Village President Richard Lartz. "We do not react to threats by individuals or corporations, and we have no intentions of rescinding (our ordinance)." 

Attwell said that the city is more open to finding a middle ground.

"We've made a few different attempts to reach out the the Gehl family," Attwell said. "We tried to work out a potential resolution that hopefully works for both parties, and we are waiting for the Gehl family's response, specifically John Gehl."

Residents complain

Both laws originated from residential complaints in August 2017 about the stench of the manure. 

"When there was a southwest wind the entire village was treated to the smell of the liquid manure, and village residents demanded we do something about the smell," Lartz said. "We could not do anything at that time, but in an effort for that to not happen again we passed this ordinance." 

The DNR investigated Tag Lane Dairy's manure spreading practices after three individuals complained to the DNR about the spreading. The Waukesha County Land and Water Conservation Division also received numerous complaints.

"The smell was so bad you couldn’t leave the house, and the flies were tenfold of what they usually are," said Kelly Sobleski, who lives in the nearby Nashotah Farms subdivision. 

When Gehl bought the farm, it was celebrated as a way to keep farms in Lake Country. 

"I would be disappointed if it was no longer farmland that was operating differently than they are," Sobleski said. "I wouldn't have a problem if it was used the way it was in the past, when the smell was livable and lasted for a day or two. This smell lasted for weeks, not just a day or two. It made our property unusable."

RELATED:Neighbors make a stink about manure spreading violations at Tag Lane Dairy

Another resident in the subdivision, who did not want to be named because his opinion is unpopular among his neighbors, said the smell was not so bad. 

"I think it was overplayed," he said. "There were so many trucks I think it just freaked people out. The smell wasn’t great, but it wasn’t unbearable.

"When you live in a subdivision in the middle of farmland, what do you expect?" 

Conservation easement

Gehl's plan was to eventually place the farmland in a conservation easement so the agricultural portions of the property could never be developed. 

Nashotah House sold the land to Gehl in 2016 as the seminary shifted its focus solely to education. Seminary officials were delighted the land would remain farmland.

"John Gehl's commitment to conserve and restore agricultural land is a noble mission and benefits all of us," said Nashotah House Provost Garwood Anderson. 

"It would be a shame to lose more agricultural land. I hope that our neighbors and the common council can work toward a reasonable compromise for the common good of our community." 

Gehl threatens to sell

"We have every intention to be a good neighbor," Gehl-Neuman said. 

Between Gehl Farmland Investments and the Faye Gehl Conservation Foundation, the Hartland-based farming group owns more than 1,000 acres of farmland in Waukesha County.

Though the Nashotah and Delafield farmlands are owned by the investment company, the foundation's motto is "keep the country in Lake Country."

Gehl-Neumann said between the purchase of the Nashotah House land, and land from the Mertin Farm, they spent $5.85 million. 

"We certainly didn't spend nearly $6 million to make our neighbors mad," she said. 

John Gehl sent letters to Delafield and Nashotah in early May, explaining his disappointment in the new ordinances.

"It would have been the right thing for the city of Delafield to at least notify us in advance of the proposed change in the municipal code," Gehl wrote in a letter to City Administrator Tom Hafner. "We thought we were doing the community a service by keeping this land in open space. Knowing the new restrictions we will proceed to put the two farms we own up for sale so the community can have the residential development they obviously desire." 

Gehl said in his letter to Nashotah that he only learned of its ordinance change after trying to apply for a manure permit. 

"Since we own one of the few remaining farms in the village we are surprised and disappointed we were not consulted prior to the passing of the ordinance," the letter said. "Therefore please note that unless this ordinance is rescinded within 90 days we will put the Mertin Farms 130 acres up for sale on September 1, 2018. "

Improper application

The DNR issued a notice of noncompliance when it found that Tag Lane Dairy had not maintained a minimum distance of 1,000 feet from the community well for Nashotah House when spreading the manure.

The notice also noted many instances of manure "ponding" in the field and manure on areas outside the farm field.

The manure is supposed to be injected into the ground to prevent excessive manure above ground, but a faulty hose created many problems for the Gehl farms. 

"Unfortunately, we knew there was some improper application," Gehl-Neumann said. "Some of the hoses burst, and if that happens manure gets on top of the property instead of inside the ground. It's going to smell regardless, but if we didn't have those problems it would probably be less, and we care about water quality as much as anyone else does." 

A notice of noncompliance is issued for low-level violations.

"Generally speaking, the conditions in a permit for concentrated animal feeding operations like Tag Lane are intended to avoid higher-risk landspreading practices that could result in impacts to groundwater or surface waters," said DNR Wastewater Engineer Tom Baumann.

"The degree or level of enforcement depends on several factors, including the cause of the violation, nature of impacts, number/duration of violations and compliance history of the permittee."

A DNR representative said May 31 that Tag Lane Dairy is now in compliance with its orders during a public meeting for the company's permit renewal. However, the DNR has not yet ruled on the dairy's permit.