Mega Barns Along the US Border Cause a Big Stink in Manitoba | The Walrus

"Riverview, the Minnesota-based agricultural company that made the statement, is set to test the goal as it adds to its network of mega dairies by building two facilities along the North Dakotan stretch of the Red River before it flows north into Canada. One barn, near Hillsboro, will contain 25,000 head of cattle; the other, outside Abercrombie, will house 12,500."

"Activists say the barns are expected to produce the equivalent surface area of fifty Canadian football fields in waste-some 1,179,295 cubic metres of slurry. Riverview's official disposal proposal for the effluent-to use it as fertilizer for the fields surrounding the barns-has been met with skepticism from environmental groups in Manitoba and North Dakota alike."

"We're certain that there's going to be a fair amount of phosphorus and nitrogen, as well as other contaminants, that run off and get into the Red River and get into Lake Winnipeg, says Vicki Burns, a volunteer with the Manitoba Eco-Network and director of the Save Lake Winnipeg Project."

Riverview, a Minnesota-based agricultural company, plans to construct two massive dairy facilities along the North Dakota-Manitoba border near Hillsboro and Abercrombie, opening in 2027. The first barn will house 25,000 cattle and the second 12,500, collectively containing nearly as many dairy cows as all of Manitoba. These facilities will generate approximately 1,179,295 cubic metres of manure slurry annually. While Riverview proposes using the effluent as fertilizer for surrounding fields, environmental groups in both Manitoba and North Dakota express serious concerns about phosphorus, nitrogen, and contaminant runoff entering the Red River and Lake Winnipeg. The International Joint Commission is currently reviewing the project's environmental impacts, highlighting the need for coordinated US-Canada environmental stewardship.

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