Area feedlots at center of state appeals court decision

The on-going feedlot fight in Dodge County is now in the hands of the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Oral arguments were heard Feb. 7 at the Minnesota Judicial Center in St. Paul regarding a local judge’s ruling that paved the way for more feedlots to be built in Dodge County. Three judges will now decide the fate of a lawsuit initiated by Lowell and Evelyn Trom of rural Blooming Prairie. The appeals court has 90 days to issue a ruling.
Attorneys were given 15 minutes each to present their cases to the appeals court. In addition to the oral arguments, both sides also had the opportunity to provide written submissions supporting their positions. 
Several groups representing a coalition of the nation’s leading environmental, public health and animal protection organizations have joined Trom’s legal efforts to highlight what they believe are the negative impacts associated with factory farms. 
Some of the leading groups that have joined in the battle are John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, the Humane Society of the United States and the Animal Legal Defense Fund. 
Jim Peters, attorney representing the Troms, said it is “unprecedented to have the level of national attention” that has been generated in this case. “These groups represent millions of Americans and that’s pretty unique for this kind of case,” Peters said.  “It certainly conveys the significance of it,” he added.
Sonja Trom Eayrs, who is the daughter of the Troms and lives in the Twin Cities, has been instrumental in the legal fight for the past several years. “Their participation has been essential in educating and raising awareness regarding the public health and environmental concerns relating to factory farming,” she said of the national groups joining the battle. “There are issues that extend way beyond our family and this single feedlot.”
Trom Eayrs said the participation of the national groups “helps to highlight and underscore the issues raised on appeal.”