Hog confinement owners fined for improper manure applications

By Jared Strong

Two northern Iowa hog confinement owners applied manure from their facilities to fields without proper certifications and potentially applied an incorrect amount of manure, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

• READ MORE: 4 calf health issues on pasture

Dan and Mike Staudt own and operate a total of four of the animal confinements, but the allegations against them are based on routine inspections of two of the facilities, according to a recent DNR order that fined them $6,000.

The inspections happened in June 2022 at facilities near Floyd and Rudd in Floyd County. They each have a capacity of about 2,400 swine.

The men are now certified confinement site manure applicators, but they lacked the certifications for about 12 years from 2009 to 2021, DNR records show. A DNR officer determined that despite that lack of certification, the Staudts each applied manure from the facilities for five of those years.

The officer also noted deficiencies in the two facilities’ manure management plans, which are meant to avoid the overapplication of manure on fields. One of the fields where manure was spread was not included in the plans. Further, the plans did not take into account additional commercial nitrogen fertilizer that was generally applied during planting, DNR records show.

“Dan and Mike Staudt own and operate at least four animal feeding operation(s) and had been previously certified to apply manure in the past,” the DNR order said. “They were aware of the requirements.”

As part of the DNR order, the Staudts agreed to pay the fine and comply with state requirements in the future.

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of the States Newsroom, a network of similar news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.