The Reeve for the RM of Ste. Anne says council has a tough decision to make regarding a proposed major expansion at Pennwood Dairy.

Around 60 residents attended the public hearing last night in Ste. Anne, where a number of them voiced their concerns about Pennwood’s proposal to more than double the size of its operation. The farm is located three miles east of Highway 12 on Clearsprings Road near Steinbach. A spokesperson from the province notes they do not have any technical issues with the proposal but says there are land use and planning impacts that council will have to review when making the decision.

"It’s always good when the technical review comes up clean and the government as a whole has no problem with it," indicates RM of Ste. Anne Reeve Paul Saindon. He says it is a tough call to make as the local government noting they deal with the people first hand as opposed to just numbers and figures.

"It'll be a good discussion and we’ll see where it takes us." 

Pennwood's expansion would see the farm grow from 800 milking cows to 1,705. Although it may seem drastic, representatives from the farm explain they estimate it would take them a bare minimum of five years to achieve the goal noting it would probably be closer to ten. They say it takes time to attain the required quota because it is so expensive. 

"Farm expansion is always a little bit of a touchy subject to residents and ratepayers," adds Reeve Saindon, "everybody got to voice their concerns and we’ll all take it into account when we made our decision."

If council were to approve the conditional use, Pennwood would still have to apply for a number of variances in order for them to start expanding. If council denies, it is essentially back to the drawing board for the farm.  

Saindon says the decision is expected to be made either at the upcoming council meeting next Wednesday or the following meeting on March 13.

Read More: Pennwood Proposing To More Than Double Its Herd