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Bill would exempt small backyard chicken coops from feedlot definition; Wright County seeks clarity
Summary
Senate File 514, offered by Sen. Hoffman and Wright County officials, would move the MPCA feedlot definition into statute and exempt small chicken coops (proposal cited 12 birds) from feedlot regulation; committee laid the measure over for further drafting and stakeholder work.
Senate File 514, a bill to clarify the definition of "feedlot" and exempt small backyard chicken coops from feedlot regulation, was presented to the Senate Environment Committee on April 1 and laid over for further work with stakeholders.
Senator Hoffman introduced the proposal as a response to local confusion about whether small residential chicken coops meet the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's administrative definition of feedlot. Wright County officials told the committee that, under the current rule interpretation, even a single chicken in some settings could be treated as a feedlot for setback and enforcement purposes.
"If you actually zoomed in on this, there's actually cows grazing in this here meadow, which goes right into a public lake. Those 25 cows in that photo, don't constitute a feedlot. But if I put a chicken coop in that same area and put 1 chicken in it, per the MPCA's definition, that would constitute a feedlot," Wright County Board Chair Doreen Fesch said in testimony.
Wright County Commissioner Nadine Shane and county feedlot staff joined testimony supporting statutory clarity. The bill as presented would move the MPCA definition into statute and include an exemption for a small number of birds; the sponsoring county suggested 12 birds as a preliminary figure based on common municipal limits.
Witnesses told the committee they had discussed the draft language with MPCA and the Association of Minnesota Counties and were open to adjustments. Senators asked whether the proposal would create multiple definitions or conflict with existing rules; proponents said they want a single, clear statutory rule so county feedlot officers can enforce consistently and avoid neighbor disputes cascading into widespread enforcement actions.
The committee laid Senate File 514 over for further work and technical drafting with AMC, MPCA and interested senators. No final changes were made in committee.
