Rushmore farmer seeks to expand cattle operation in Larkin Township

Julie Buntjer, The Daily Globe, Worthington, Minn.
·2 min read

May 24—WORTHINGTON — The Nobles County Board of Adjustment approved a request during its Wednesday night meeting from Gary Slater to vary from the required half-mile setback from the nearest neighbor to construct a 70- by 280-foot cattle barn at 17606 Fellows Ave., Rushmore. The site is located in the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 12, Larkin Township.

Slater, who already has two livestock barns on the site for finishing cattle said he wants to add the new barn to house calves. He identified space along the west side of the farmsite — directly west of the existing barns — for the new barn.

The expansion will put him over 1,000 animal units at the site, which in turn leads to greater setback requirements from the nearest neighbor.

Nobles County Zoning Administrator Kathy Henderschiedt said Slater's request to vary from the half-mile setback is because he's 457 feet shy of the requirement.

She also stated she received no public feedback on Slater's request. Neighboring landowners were notified of the hearing.

"My acreage, the way it lays out, that's really the only place it fits," Slater told board members. He said the farm drops off approximately six feet in elevation going to the east, and he has low spots along both the east and west sides of the driveway that flood two to three years out of 10.

"I can certainly understand that's the place to build it," said board member David Thier.

Emily Erickson, Nobles County feedlot officer, said Slater was required to apply for a state National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit because he's going over 1,000 animal units on the site. She also said all of the barns are enclosed on the site, with the exception of the feed storage area. As a result, he will need to install a vegetative buffer to deal with any runoff.

The board of adjustment approved Slater's request to vary from the required setback to construct the barn. That action then led Slater to appear before the Nobles County Planning Commission, which met immediately following the board of adjustment.

Slater told the commission that he'd like to expand his operation by adding the bedded pack barn to house calves for two to three months before they are moved to another barn.

Commission member Brent Feikema said he thought it was a good plan.

The commission granted preliminary approval for the livestock expansion. The request will now go before the Nobles County Board of Commissioners at its June 4 meeting for consideration.