History and Implementation of a
Successful County Feedlot Program

Charles V. Peterson, Feedlot Specialist
Blue Earth County Environmental Services

Livestock agriculture has been a significant industry in Blue Earth County for generations. However, there has been a shift in the type of feedlots in the County. In 1965 the County had approximately 49,900 cattle (1.0 Animal Units (AU), 1.4 AU for dairy cows), 4,400 sheep (.1 AU), and 80,400 hogs (.4 AU) (Minnesota Agriculture Statistics, 1965) for a total of roughly 97,130 AU. In 1995 the estimated populations were 20,000 cattle, 2,200 sheep, and 195,000 hogs (Minnesota Agriculture Statistics, 1995) for a total of about 99,820 AUs. Currently, the County has 197 sites with cattle, with an average of 116 AU per site and 331 sites with swine, with an average of 348 AU per site. Feedlots were identified by the Minnesota River Assessment Project (MRAP) as a source of surface water pollution to the Minnesota River (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, 1994). In response to the changing feedlot industry, the County established an advisory committee in 1992 to begin the task of drafting a "Feedlot Ordinance."

During the summer of 1992 the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (PCA) began an enforcement program with all feedlots. A list of feedlots in Blue Earth County with known pollution problems was provided to the State by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) who had made a windshield survey of feedlots in Blue Earth County. The DNR and the PCA targeted ten producers from the NWF list, most likely to be in violation of state statutes, for investigation; however, as the enforcement began, producers lodged complaints against other producers and the number grew to near 20 enforcement actions. Several additional investigations have taken place in the past several years, one which resulted in the arrest and jailing of a producer and his brother.

The enforcement action put development of the ordinance onto a fast track. Additionally, 170 applications for feedlot permits were received by the County. These sites were visited by County staff and the applications then forwarded to the PCA for permit writing. In January of 1994, the County adopted its "Livestock and Manure Management Ordinance" (feedlot ordinance) and entered the PCA's county feedlot program. However, implementation of the feedlot ordinance was delayed until January 1995 to give the producers a chance to get into compliance with the new regulations before they became law. Upon entering the PCA's feedlot program, the County hired one full-time feedlot specialist.

The feedlot ordinance established several new rules to be implemented. Feedlots could not be located closer than 500 feet to an existing residence other than the owner's. All new or expanding feedlots over 300 AU would need to obtain a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) from the County Board. All new manure storage structures would have to provide eight months storage. Also, all feedlots over 10 AU are required to obtain a Blue Earth County Feedlot Permit which needs to be renewed every three years. The PCA's guidelines for setbacks from water resources and residences for the land application of manure were adopted as part of the ordinance. Additionally, all new and expanding feedlots within one-half mile of a municipality must first receive written permission from the affected municipality. Lastly, new feedlots and expansions are prohibited within one-half mile of all federal, state, county, and municipal parks. Implementing a county feedlot program involves: taking applications; site inspections; writing state and county permits; writing staff reports for public hearings; maintaining data bases; and investigating complaints. In the fall of 1995, the County hired one additional half-time feedlot employee (dedicated to feedlots full-time for two years) to help with new and expanding feedlots and one temporary full-time employee for a period of one year to help with site visits to existing feedlots.

In January 1995 the County implemented an annual feedlot fee to finance the costs of the Feedlot Program. This implementation of fees prompted the Blue Earth County Pork Producers to file a lawsuit against the County's feedlot ordinance on the grounds that it is: (1) preempted by state law, (2) in conflict with state law, or (3) arbitrary and capricious. A temporary injunction was granted in March 1995. In June 1995 the injunction was lifted after the trial hearing struck down the Pork Producers lawsuit. In August 1996 the Pork Producers filed an appeal. In January 1997 the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's decision. In February 1997 the Pork Producers petitioned the Minnesota Supreme Court for further review. In March 1997 the Minnesota Supreme Court denied the pork producers petition.

In May 1996 Blue Earth County amended its 20 year old "Land Use and Natural Resources Ordinance" (zoning ordinance). The zoning ordinance placed additional restrictions on the location and size of feedlots. In the Conservation District, no new feedlots are allowed and existing feedlots can expand only with a CUP regardless of size. In the Agriculture District all new or expanding feedlots over 100 AU are required to obtain a CUP. The maximum size of any feedlot in both zoning districts is limited to 3,000 AU (the largest feedlot in Blue Earth County is 2,000 AU). All new manure storage structures are required to obtain a CUP. The setback to residences for new feedlots and expansions over 50 AU was increased to a minimum of 1,000 feet and 1,500 feet (downwind of the prevailing winds) respectively. The setback was made mutually for residences from feedlots over 50 AU. This mutual setback provision was later made mandatory by the State of Minnesota for counties adopting feedlot to residence setbacks

To obtain a CUP, the County requires the applicant to meet with the Township Board and with the City Council (if within two miles of municipal boarder) to receive comments prior to submitting application to the County. The County's Planning Commission holds a public hearing on proposals and provides recommendations to the County Board. Land owners within one mile of a proposed feedlot 500 AU or larger receive notice of the hearing from the County, otherwise, the notice is one-half mile. Though not required, County staff strongly encourages applicants to discuss proposals with neighbors prior to the public hearing. Producers are required to provide enough acres of cropland to apply manure at agronomic rates. This is determined by dividing the estimated amount nitrogen produced (using Midwest Plan Service values) annually and dividing by 125 lbs/acre.

To begin the process of permitting all of the feedlots in the County, a comprehensive spreadsheet of 900 possible feedlot sites was compiled from several existing spreadsheets. This was compared against the files of existing permits and applications. In December 1995 the County began to systematically contact all the feedlots on the spreadsheet and schedule inspections with those feedlots over 10 AU. This was done on a township-by-township basis. This process revealed a number of inactive lots, lots under 10 AU, several which were pasture only, and some which did not exist or were duplicates. Currently, the County feedlot inventory shows a total of 886 feedlot sites, of which 301 are inactive, 101 are less than 10 AU, 13 are pastures, and 471 are active feedlots.

To date, County staff have inspected over 95% of the active feedlots. Over 88% of the County's feedlots have state and county permits. Existing feedlots are not automatically granted a "feedlot permit." If a potential pollution hazard is identified on pre-ordinance feedlot, the hazard must be corrected before permits are issued. The two primary site specific pollution hazards are unlined earthen basins and runoff to surface waters. Surface waters can include wetlands, road ditches, drainage ditches, surface tile intakes, streams, and lakes. There have been 49 feedlots identified as Potential Pollution Hazards; 18 have unlined earthen basins. There is one unpermitted below ground steel tank. The remaining 30 sites have some form of identified runoff problem. Of the 49 problem sites, 28 have cattle, 18 have swine, and three have a combination of both. Of these, 16 are 50 AU or less, 32 are between 50 and 300 AU, and one greater than 300 AU. Of the 18 unlined basins, 12 are for swine, five for cattle, and one for a combination of both. The steel tank is for storage of swine manure. There are 24 runoff problems related to cattle, four to swine, and two for combination sites.

There has been speculation that the "tough" regulations would destroy the feedlot industry in the County and that the producers would move to neighboring counties. An analysis of the CUP activity since 1990 has shown this to not be true (see Table 1. CUP activity 1990-1997.) Very little information has been provided from 1990 to 1992 due to little enforcement of the existing feedlot regulations. In 1993, the CUP numbers began to have relevance. This was when the onslaught of swine facilities began and provided us with the best baseline, pre-ordinance numbers. In 1994, there was a rush on CUPs because the ordinance was adopted, even though the ordinance would not go into effect until January of 1995. Producers wanted to get sites permitted before the new regulations went into effect. Many of these expansions and new feedlots from 1994 were not constructed. Excluding 1994, 1997 shows the greatest number of CUPs for expansions and new feedlots as well as the greatest total increase in animal units from new construction.

Blue Earth County has made a commitment to establish an excellent Feedlot Program. This has not been a free ride. In 1996 the county expended roughly $115,000 from its "feedlot account." In 1997 the County has spent roughly $70,000 through November. These figures do not include the one-half time employee who is paid from a different account but has been dedicated to feedlots full-time. The drop in expenditures from 1996 to 1997 is a result of going from three to two feedlot staff. It is the intention of the County to operate the feedlot program on one and one-half time employees in 1998 and into the future. Additionally, there is clerical and administrative support which are not included in these figures. Funding for the program comes from annual fees and a state "feedlot" grant. The annual fees generate about $60,000 per year and the state grant has been about $16,000 per year. The combination of the two sources should cover the feedlot program when operating at one and one-half time employees.

The County has several feedlot goals for 1998. One is to have all of the identified potential pollution hazards corrected. The second is to begin a tracking system of acres dedicated for land application of manure utilizing GIS. With the successful implementation of the County's program, feedlots have become a relatively non-controversial issue in Blue Earth County.

Table 1. CUP activity 1990-1997.

Year	Earthen Basins	Feedlot Expansions	New Feedlots	Animal Unit Increase
1990	6	1	0	67
1991	5	1	1	1,708
1992	4	4	3	2,844
1993	3	9	16	16,891
1994	10	26	12	21,464
1995	1	12	5	10,923
1996	2	15	6	7,269
1997	0	30	9	17,899

 
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