Livestock Feedlots in Goodhue County, Minnesota

A new feedlot must clear a 1,000-foot or 94% odor-annoyance-free distance from any existing dwelling

Article 13 of the Goodhue County Zoning Ordinance (Confined Feedlot Regulations) sets a specific odor-based siting standard for a new animal facility: it must either sit at least 1,000 feet from an existing dwelling other than the operator's own home or one accessory to the facility, or meet a 94 percent odor-annoyance-free rating as calculated by OFFSET (Odor From Feedlots Setback Estimation Tool), an odor-rating model developed by the University of Minnesota from actual odor-emission measurements taken at nearly 80 Minnesota farms. The same 1,000-foot-or-94% standard applies to distance from churches, public parks, schools, and private schools, though not homeschool sites specifically. This setback works in both directions -- the ordinance also applies a reciprocal setback protecting an existing feedlot from encroachment by a new dwelling built nearby -- so a buyer planning either a new residence near an existing operation, or a new feedlot near existing homes, needs to run the actual OFFSET calculation (or get Land Use Management to do so) rather than assume a flat linear distance settles the question either way.

Under 1,000 animal units, permitting authority sits with the county SWCD -- a different office than zoning review

Minnesota delegates feedlot permitting for facilities under 1,000 animal units to county-level feedlot programs, and in Goodhue County that state-created feedlot-officer role is held by the Goodhue Soil and Water Conservation District, not the county's own Land Use Management department that handles the Article 13 zoning setback and conditional use permit review described above and on our county hub page. In practice, a feedlot project in this range needs to satisfy two separate processes at two different offices: local zoning review and any required conditional use permit through Land Use Management, and the state feedlot permit itself through the Goodhue SWCD. A facility proposing construction or expansion generally must file a Notice of Construction at least 30 days before work begins, and a separate Interim Permit track exists for facilities under 1,000 animal units (or non-CAFOs) with an identified pollution problem, as well as for facilities over 300 animal units where manure would be land-applied on high-phosphorus soil, on a slope over 6 percent in a protection area, or in a drinking-water supply management area with a vulnerable aquifer. Once a facility's total animal units exceed 1,000, the Goodhue SWCD steps aside and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency takes over as the permitting authority directly.

What this means before buying land for, or near, a livestock operation

1. If the plan involves a new feedlot facility, ask Land Use Management for an actual OFFSET-model calculation (or the distance to the nearest qualifying dwelling, church, park, or school) rather than assuming the flat 1,000-foot figure alone determines whether a site works -- the 94% odor-annoyance-free alternative can allow a closer siting in some conditions.
2. If buying land specifically because it sits near an existing feedlot (for a lower price, or simply proximity), confirm the reciprocal setback protection applies to your intended dwelling site before assuming you can build as close as you'd like.
3. For any feedlot project under 1,000 animal units, contact the Goodhue Soil and Water Conservation District directly about the state feedlot permit and Notice of Construction process -- this runs separately from, and in addition to, any zoning conditional use permit from Land Use Management.
4. If the operation's manure will be land-applied on higher-risk ground (steep slope, high-phosphorus soil, or a vulnerable drinking-water aquifer area) and the facility exceeds 300 animal units, budget for the Interim Permit process specifically, not just a standard notice.
5. For any facility approaching or exceeding 1,000 animal units, confirm directly with MPCA (not the county SWCD) which permitting track and timeline apply, since authority shifts entirely to the state at that threshold.