Environmental Responsibilities of One of the Largest Feedyards in the Nation

When you're one of the largest feedyards in the nation, it carries certain responsibilities, especially when it comes to environmental sustainability.

Grant County Feeders is a southwest Kansas feedyard with a capacity of nearly 100,000 head. It is one of 13 feedyards owned by Five Rivers Cattle Feeding with a one-time total capacity of 900,000 head. Tom McDonald, senior vice president, environmental and sustainability for the company, says it's important for their feedyards to follow regulations and guidelines, and to foster the relationship between proper animal husbandry and ecosystem health.

"By managing water and manure, we can be sure to provide the animals with the proper environment to thrive," he says.

FOCUS ON PROTOCOLS

Providing the proper environment revolves around regulations outlined by the EPA that focus on water and manure management. It starts with retention ponds to catch and contain stormwater, which includes runoff from the feedyard.

McDonald says their facility in southwest Kansas receives about 17 inches of rain annually. Other Five Rivers locations in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Oklahoma and Texas have similar amounts of precipitation, which helps when managing the rainfall.

"We are required to hold all the runoff from a 4.6-inch rainfall event. That's a 25-year, 24-hour storm. And, we have to have enough capacity to catch that if it would come again in two weeks," he says. "Our ponds are designed to catch and contain, and then beneficially use that water on farmland. To do that, we also have a detailed nutrient management plan."

That plan consists of annual soil-sampling, crop-planning and analyzing field nutrients and nutrients the crop puts in the soil. Each field has its own rating, which is plugged into the nutrient management plan to show how many gallons from the retention ponds to apply. Clay liners help prevent seepage and keep water from moving beneath the ponds.

Water from the retention ponds is pumped through an underground pipeline to center pivots and applied to fields from the spring through fall, as needed. The additional ponds help provide extra capacity when dewatering isn't possible in winter months.

SUSTAINABILITY INCLUDES MANURE

Manure in the pens is another component of Five Rivers environmental sustainability. It is a valuable fertilizer for surrounding farmers and is sold or given to neighboring farmers who have silage contracts with Five Rivers. "Farmers understand the value of manure to get the micronutrients and organic matter," McDonald explains.

Manure is hauled out of cattle pens and applied to fields after wheat and corn harvests. Some manure is stockpiled on field corners to spread once the crop is harvested. "We will have manure stockpiled around the feedyard if it hasn't been marketed yet. Berms surround the manure piles to prevent runoff," he adds.

Grant County Feeders General Manager Chad McCormick says farmers like the feedyard manure because it's dry and easy to spread, unlike manure from other types of animal operations. "In addition, an application of manure will have three years of benefits, because it takes that long to break down, unlike commercial fertilizer."

Cattle at the Grant County Feeders location produce about 1 ton of manure per head yearly, which is used within a 20-mile radius. Typically, it's spread at a rate of 15 to 20 tons per acre, depending on the nutrient analysis.

WATER USE MANAGED CLOSELY

Most of the Five Rivers feedyards are in areas with lower rainfall to help with water management. The bulk of the water is used as drinking water for the cattle. "This feedyard [Grant County Feeders] will use about 12 to 121/2 gallons per head per day. Included in that is a little water used for steam-flaking corn," McDonald adds. "We have meters to track how much water is used daily to be alert to any problems."

Wells around the feedyard are nearly 400 feet deep. The water comes from the Ogallala Aquifer, which serves a large area of the Great Plains region.

"We are constantly trying to figure out how to use less water and use it in a better way. The sprinklers on irrigation pivots are lower than they used to be to be sure the water is being used and not evaporating," McDonald says.

A monthly meeting with feedyard managers is used to discuss topics from nutrition to health and to evaluate how the environmental management plan is working. Recommended changes are provided after analyzing the feedyard and records. "This gives us another set of eyes to notice what's going on in the yard from a different perspective," McCormick explains.

MONITOR FEED CONVERSION

A manure analysis is done at least once a year. Awareness of changes in feed throughout the year is important. Feed testing is done daily to ensure quality and consistency of the ration fed to the cattle.

Some 1,500 tons of feed is used at Grant County Feeders daily. Cattle rations consist of steam-flaked corn, corn silage or wheat silage, some distillers grains as a protein source and vitamin and mineral premix. Hay is fed to new arrivals for transitioning to the regular feed ration.

"When you have changes in the feed mill or in the cattle, we will see differences in the feed conversions, which leads to different amounts of manure in the pens," McCormick says. "As soon as cattle leave a pen, the scraper will be there cleaning. We want to keep the area ready for the next group of cattle."

McDonald's experience in environmental management at the Five Rivers feedyards spans more than 28 years. Through the years, he says technological changes have helped feedyards become more environmentally sustainable.

"In the beginning, there wasn't a lot of thought about nutrient management plans. There has been an evolution since the late 1990s, when the EPA wrote their first regulations for CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations)," he explains. "Tying retention ponds to your farming operation has come a long way since the early 2000s. Our team keeps track of what is happening in the feedyard every day. It's pretty rigorous."

McCormick says if a person is passionate about managing the water, manure and farm ground, he or she could be on staff at a feedyard for many years and never work with the actual cattle directly, but still be an important part of the team. Three people are in the environment and sustainability department for Five Rivers. However, at each feedlot, the yard maintenance department is responsible for changes needed to make it more sustainable.

"The biggest thing that has changed is the culture," McDonald explains. "It's a source of pride that our environmental system works like it's supposed to. We get upset when we see someone else not doing it right."

Overall, while profitability is the key enabler for environmental excellence and social responsibility, leaving the land better for the next generation is also important. So, too, is raising good cattle to feed the world. Five Rivers takes that seriously in its pursuit of sustainability.

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-- Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com

-- Follow Jennifer on social platform X @JennCattleGal

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