Livestock Feedlots in Yankton County, South Dakota

Yankton County's Zoning Ordinance doesn't just require a permit for a new feedlot -- it sets specific, numeric setback distances for the facility itself, and a separate set of distances for where manure can be applied afterward. Both matter for evaluating land near existing agriculture or for planning a livestock operation of your own.

This page covers what's specific to Yankton County. For the general explanation, see the national guide.

Specific setback distances for new feeding operations

Yankton County's Zoning Ordinance sets numeric setback requirements for new animal feeding operations, new concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), and associated waste facilities. A new operation must sit at least 666 feet from a property line marking a change in ownership, and at least 330 feet from a right-of-way line -- two distinct distances measured from two different reference lines, not a single blanket number. On top of those, the ordinance separately requires the operation to be located at least a quarter mile (1,320 feet) from a neighboring residential dwelling, which in practice is often the binding constraint on smaller or more irregularly shaped parcels near existing homes.

For a buyer evaluating land specifically to site a feeding operation, this means a parcel's usable footprint for that purpose can be considerably smaller than its total acreage once all three setbacks are drawn in from every property line, right-of-way, and nearby residence -- and for a buyer evaluating land near an existing or potential neighboring operation, these are the same distances that determine how close a feedlot could legally be sited to your own future home site. Confirm the current, adopted version of these figures with Yankton County Planning & Zoning directly, since zoning ordinances of this kind are periodically amended and the county's own commission has continued refining specific ordinance articles in recent years.

Manure application follows its own, different set of distances

Separately from where a feedlot facility itself can sit, Yankton County's ordinance sets its own setback distances for where manure can actually be applied to land -- distances that do not mirror the facility setbacks above. Manure application must stay at least 1,000 feet from a lake, river, or stream classified as a public drinking water supply, and at least 660 feet from one classified as a fishery. Along public road rights-of-way, the required distance depends on the application method: 10 feet when surface-applied versus 100 feet when irrigated. Near an incorporated community, surface-applied manure must stay at least 1,000 feet away. A parcel can clear every facility-siting setback and still have real, separate constraints on which of its acres can actually receive manure, depending on nearby water classification and how close it sits to a town.

These county-level rules are not the only layer that applies. South Dakota's Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) runs a statewide Feedlot Permit Program that covers water-pollution-control permitting for concentrated animal feeding operations based on animal-unit thresholds, operating alongside -- not instead of -- county zoning. Local reporting on feedlot rules elsewhere in this region of South Dakota has specifically noted that not all livestock operations in the state manage waste under identical requirements, which is a reminder that a given operation's exact obligations depend on its size and type rather than a single uniform statewide rule. Anyone buying land to start or expand a feeding operation in Yankton County should check both the county's current zoning setbacks and whether the planned operation's size would trigger a DANR general or individual feedlot permit before finalizing plans.

Livestock Feedlot Siting in Yankton County, South Dakota

Specific setback distances for new feeding operations

Manure application follows its own, different set of distances

Ready to talk to someone who knows land?