Brookings County board approves expansion at Hammock Dairy with road-agreement condition

The Brookings County Board of Adjustment voted April 1 to approve a conditional-use permit for Hammock Dairy LLC to expand calf housing at its North unit, with conditions including an updated road-use agreement before a building permit is issued and compliance with state CAFO permitting and county best-management practices.

The action authorizes an expansion at the farm described in staff materials as the east 917 feet of the south 1,200 feet of the Southeast quarter of Section 15, Township 112 North, Range 50 West in Eureka Township (site address given in materials as 19895 400 70th Avenue, Bruce). County staff said the change will reduce the number of mature cows at the North unit and add additional calf capacity; the county findings record an increase in total animal units at the operation and notes a previously filed CAFO permit and setback exception form is on file.

County zoning staff Richard Rudyard presented the permit application and supporting materials, including an engineering report and a site plan that locates the proposed calf barn north of the existing structures. Applicant representative spoke to animal health as a reason for the change: "We've been breeding the cows to Jersey ... the calves are quite a bit smaller," and said the move to single calf hutches and an enclosed calf barn is intended "to keep healthier calves," which the applicant said motivated the replacement of group huts with individual hutches.

Eureka Township submitted a written request read into the record asking the county to require an update to the existing haul-road agreement. The township requested adding roughly a half-mile of road to the haul-road agreement to reflect increased traffic and maintenance needs near the shop and the proposed new calf barn. County staff told the board the road agreement will be updated and must be on file before the county issues a building permit.

The board's written findings and conditions require: compliance with Brookings County zoning article 4 (agricultural district) and article 5 (general CAFO requirements); submittal of an updated road agreement with Eureka Township prior to building-permit issuance; adherence to best-management practices for manure application (stated in the findings as injection to a minimum 4–6 inch depth); and that the applicant secure any required South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources CAFO permit. The findings also note the proposed structures are not located within the county's critical aquifer protection Zone A and the property is not in the flood plain.

The board approved the conditional-use permit by voice vote. The county development office will not issue a building permit for the proposed calf barn until the updated road agreement is submitted and the applicant complies with the listed conditions. The conditional-use permit language recorded in the findings states the permit will be invalid if not used within three years of issuance.

The county development office said related inspections and state-level permitting remain the applicant's responsibility and that the board's action allows the county zoning director to issue building permits consistent with the conditional-use permit once conditions are met.