ABERCROMBIE, N.D. — The health of the Red River to Lake Winnipeg in Canada is a key concern for North Dakota residents who have taken issue with two proposed large-scale dairies in the Red River Valley.
The worry has led to two recent press conferences featuring members of the Dakota Resource Council and Canadian representatives, one in Winnipeg and the other in Fargo, to express concerns for what manure from the dairies could do if it leaks into the water.
Sam Wagner, the DRC’s ag and food field organizer, said the organization has spoken with residents from Abercrombie, North Dakota, and Hillsboro, North Dakota, to see what community members are thinking in regard to the dairies being proposed in their areas. Abercrombie has been more vocal in its resistance and some residents have formed the group Abercrombie Citizens for Responsible Growth, with the DRC’s help.
“Part of DRC’s mantra is grassroots organizing led by members and led by people from the community, because the community usually has the best idea of what they want, how they want to do this,” Wagner said. “Our approach has always been, if there’s enough of a community that wants to resist something like this, we can help give them the resources to stop this facility.”
The DRC, an organization Wagner said has a history of fighting the spread of concentrated animal feeding operations, has mainly been communicating with residents of Abercrombie. The city is located close to the site for a potential 12,500-head dairy.
Riverview LLP has been preparing to build two dairies in North Dakota – the Abercrombie dairy and another 25,000-head site in Herberg Township near Hillsboro. While supporters tout how the dairies can improve the number of dairy cows in the state and bolster its dairy business, opponents fear the health impacts of the number of cows and the illnesses, bacteria and parasites they carry. A particular concern is the potential for the 37,500 cows’ manure to find its way into the Red River.
Madeline Luke, a retired physician from Valley City and volunteer with the DRC, was present at both conferences in Winnipeg and Fargo and spoke about the impact any leaked manure could have on the water, especially if it flows to Lake Winnipeg. The lake, she said, has been dealing with algae blooms for the past 15 or so years; the algae takes all the oxygen from the water and, when it dies, releases toxins.
A constant flow of nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen promotes growth of the harmful algae.
“We’re looking at a huge amount that has a high potential of going into the main stem of the Red River and ending up in Lake Winnipeg,” Luke said. “The Canadians were alarmed to hear about these two dairies so close to the Red River.”
Riverview separates its manure into liquid and solid, using the solid as bedding and injecting the liquid into fields for farmers as fertilizer. The liquid manure is stored in lagoons at the farm, which Luke claims are susceptible to leaking.
Erica Bouyum of Riverview has responded to concerns about manure discharge. The dairy farms, she said, are designed, built and operated to contain all of their manure on site and to protect waterways. The manure storage basins will be triple-lined with a 2-foot compacted clay liner, 80-millimeter synthetic liner and another 60-millimeter synthetic liner.
“This basin liner will be impermeable and protective of our aquifers,” she said. “Riverview cares about the environment and our neighbors. … We also want to keep our groundwater clean.”
She also said Riverview's process of applying manure to land involves manure being tilled directly into the soil so it is not lost to waterways. The plan is a condition of the company’s permit required by law, she said.
The Abercrombie dairy has received a permit from the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, while the Herberg dairy is awaiting approval.
Another concern among opponents is water usage.
Todd Leake, who lives near Emerado and is a customer of the East Central Water District, said the Herberg dairy will need potable water for the cows from a treated source. People will have to be mindful of how much water is used, he said.
“They can’t just suck her dry,” he said. “There has to be a balance between recharge and water going out.”
Caitlin Johns, an Abercrombie resident who lives near the proposed dairy site with her family, worries about her well possibly drying up with Riverview getting water from the Wahpeton aquifer. She was told to consider subscribing to rural water as a solution, but she said that is hundreds of dollars that don’t need to be spent.
In Bouyum’s response, she said there are multiple water supply options for the Abercrombie dairy, and that Riverview evaluates water supplies extensively before building and “will prioritize and protect our neighbor’s access to water.”
Johns and other Abercrombie residents have been more vocally against the dairy coming to their area than those living near the proposed Herberg dairy near Hillsboro, Wagner noted. He said he believes the reason is that news about the Abercrombie dairy wasn’t as prominent as the Herberg dairy. Johns said she found out about it when a Riverview employee came with a local farmer to tell her. It wasn’t until people started speaking out that people in the community knew, she said.
“It was very hush-hush,” she said.
Bouyum said Riverview personally contacted all nearby neighbors when permitting began for the Abercrombie dairy and hosted a public open house in September of 2024. The dairy’s state permit was available for 30 days of public review and comment, she said.
“We sincerely regret if anyone found these outreach efforts to be insufficient, and we welcome their feedback,” she said.
Anyone with concerns is encouraged to contact Riverview, she said.
Wagner said a big issue DRC takes with concentrated animal feeding operations is how large facilities encourage consolidation of farms. In many cases, he claims, bigger operations have more economic power to strong-arm smaller ones out of the market.
“This could be problematic in a lot of ways to the existing dairies that are still in North Dakota,” Wagner said. “We would prefer to see more of a diversified operation with many small farms. … If this Riverview facility in Abercrombie was four or five dairy farms of about 1,500 to 2,000 head each, we would also see that this would be a lot better on the environment.”
Concerns about the health of livestock exist, too. Luke believes the number of cows in the operations makes them more prone to sickness.
“It’s basic biology,” she said.
Bouyem said Riverview has on-staff veterinarians, nutritionists and animal health experts monitoring the cows around the clock, and that employee and animal wellbeing are core of what Riverview does. She also said Riverview only builds dairies when there is a need for milk in the marketplace.
“With growing milk processors in the region, this need exists,” she said. “As world populations and dairy consumption continue to grow, the need for milk continues to grow as well.”