I got curious today, after considering poor Toledo, Ohio’s ongoing battle with Harmful Algae Blooms (HABs) in its Western Lake Erie drinking water source. And so, I posed a question: In OH, and WI, where are the preponderance of HABs? And, accordingly, where is the heaviest dairy production?
At the risk of making you, the reader, dig deep to find the information I gathered, I am going to here and now provide you with links to my reference articles:
Western Lake Erie Algae Bloom Projections
2007 State of OH Concentration of accepted Dairy Farm Permits (>700 cows)
Milk Production By County, Wisconsin, 2014
Toxic Algae Blooms On The Rise
And now, the unsurprising results from this search: wherever HABs are most impactful on a large scale (see: Toledo; see: The Green Bay of Lake MI), the largest presence of dairy cows and
milk production are either already dominant within the state (WI) — or are trending heavily in that direction (OH).
If best-practice standards for farmers remain marginally regulated, and farm operation regulations pale in comparison to what is required from municipalities, HABs will become an increasingly regular event with corresponding intensity.
In other words … this crappy situation is only going to get worse.