Seven departments battle blaze at Wisconsin's largest dairy farm

TOWN OF ROSENDALE (AP) -- A fire has damaged Wisconsin's largest dairy farm. The fire tore through one of the barns at Rosendale Dairy near the Fond du Lac-Winnebago County line around 2:20 p.m. Tuesday, October 16th.

Bill Harke is a spokesman for Milk Source LLC, which owns Rosendale Dairy and several other area dairy farms. He says the fire started when a piece of farm equipment sparked and spread to grain in the barn.

Harke says the fire's damage includes an estimated $500,000 in feed and the commodity shed, which has an estimated value between $500,000 and $1 million.

Rosendale Dairy has 8,400 cows and produces 78,000 gallons daily. Harke says the fire isn't expected to interfere with the usual workload.

At least seven fire departments helped battle the blaze.