Livestock Feedlot Siting in Bon Homme County, South Dakota

The 2017 hog-operation approval that triggered a countywide fight

In 2017, Bon Homme County approved hog operations proposed by David and Kayla Guthmiller in the northern part of the county. That approval, and the public reaction to it, is what pushed the county's Planning and Zoning Board to consider creating a new, intermediate animal-unit classification -- 500 to 999 animal units -- to sit between the county's existing categories and give the board more specific tools (including potentially different setback requirements) for feedlots that size, rather than treating everything under 1,000 animal units the same way. The board's discussion also proposed amended language for the existing 1,000-plus animal-unit category.

That proposal did not sail through. At a public hearing that ran nearly four hours, the board heard from both opponents and proponents of expanded animal feeding operations before voting only to have the planning commission draft formal amendment language -- and, after further public discussion, the board ultimately said it did not feel comfortable adopting the new ordinance language to send on to the county commission. Local reporting later described the broader zoning-ordinance update effort as being tabled more than once in the years that followed. The practical result: as of the most recent information available, Bon Homme County's animal-unit-based conditional-use trigger has continued to sit at the 1,000-animal-unit threshold that also applies under South Dakota's statewide feedlot permitting program, rather than gaining the separate 500-999 tier the board discussed -- but given how many times this has come back up for debate, that threshold is exactly the kind of detail to confirm as current with Planning and Zoning rather than assume is settled permanently.

A separate case shows conditional-use permits here are genuinely contested

Around the same period, Bon Homme County's Planning and Zoning Board also declined to approve a conditional-use permit request from a Scotland-area couple seeking to increase their cattle numbers. Taken together with the Guthmiller hog-operation fight and the years of tabled ordinance amendments, this is good evidence that a conditional-use application for expanded livestock in Bon Homme County is a real, case-by-case decision the board makes after hearing from neighbors -- not a formality. If your plans for a parcel involve starting or expanding a feeding operation, budget for a genuine public hearing process and the possibility of organized local opposition, not just a paperwork filing.

What to check if you are buying near an existing or proposed feedlot

• Ask Bon Homme County Planning and Zoning for the current, adopted animal-unit thresholds that trigger a conditional-use permit -- the 500-999 tier discussed since 2017 may or may not have been adopted by the time you're reading this.
• Ask specifically whether any conditional-use permit for an animal feeding operation has been approved, denied, or is pending within the area around your parcel -- both the Guthmiller approval and the Scotland-area denial show this information exists and is discussed in open meetings, not buried.
• Confirm the county's current feedlot setback distance from a residence or property line directly with the county; this is distinct from the wind-turbine setback covered elsewhere on this site's Bon Homme County pages, and the two should not be confused.
• For any operation at or above 1,000 animal units regardless of county zoning outcome, check whether it needs a South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources general or individual feedlot/CAFO permit, which covers manure management and water-quality requirements separately from county land-use approval.