County experiences boom in feedlot construction

By Sara QuamAlthough the feedlot inspections are done, some livestock producers still have corrections to make in their operations to bring them up to code.Doug Bos from the Rock County Land Management Office gave township officials an update on that process Friday.Township officials met in their annual Township Association meeting to discuss items of joint interest.There were 109 producers who needed corrections after the inspections. Of those, 27 appealed the corrections and 22 were approved.Fourteen of the corrections needed were considered "major," with the average cost of those being $30,000 to $80,000. Many of those took part in a special cost share program.Of the 109 that needed improvements, 55 still need to complete them, but most of those have plans in place.The county visited 655 sites in the inspection process, which was to ensure environmental rule compliance of all livestock operations in the county. That was a two-year process.This year was the biggest ever in feedlot construction in the county, with 22 new and expanded feedlot projects completed.In other business last week, Rock County township officials:
Voted to advertise weed control and ditch mowing public notices as a group, rather than pay individually.The Township Association will now advertise on behalf of the townships.
Heard from Representative Doug Magnus, who gave the group a legislative recap from last session. The state now has a budget surplus, after negative predictions last year. He said he anticipates more education and nursing home funding in the coming years.Magnus said, "I have nearly 1,000 people in my district employed by nursing homes. …"There’ll be a lot of talk about where we’ll spend the money, but we’ve got to be a little careful."The next session starts in March.
Heard an update on planning and zoning issues from Land Management Director Eric Hartman. He said the office is watching for an update of the individual septic system code from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.Also, Hartman said the county is working on using a "waiver of setback" variance application process. This would be used instead of a variance hearing when there is an expansion of an existing building. The waiver process would require less cost in advertising and in hosting hearings. Hartman also reminded the group that the city of Luverne has subdivision control rights two miles outside the city limits.