The Door County Sheriff’s Department stood by as a “wrangler” herded a portion of the livestock for removal from the Patrick Olson farm at 6285 Salona Road, in the Town of Claybanks, Monday. About a quarter of the herd was taken under a court order issued by Door County Judge Peter Diltz, part of the on-going disagreement between Olson & Door County over his manure management practices. The county says he is in non-compliance with state agriculture performance standards, Olson says he has been singled out by the county’s soil & water conservation department.
Actually the disagreement, involving the former county board supervisor, has been going on for several years, starting in 2008. The county received a judgment in Door County Circuit Court on October 18th of 2012 which required Olson to be in compliance with state standards by July of this year. When that date came & went, the county decided to shut down the operation, taking his livestock in order to satisfy fines that have been accruing for many months. As of July, those fines were at more than $61,000. Door County Corporation Counsel Grant Thomas says the situation is unfortunate, but the county was left with no viable alternative. About a quarter of Olson’s livestock were taken Monday, but it’s anticipated that county officials will be back at the farm again before the situation is finally resolved.
