MASON CITY — A sharp increase in hog manure production at one Northern Iowa confinement operation, combined with concerns about manure application near communities, waterways and wildlife areas, has drawn scrutiny from Cerro Gordo County public health officials, according to documents submitted to the county Board of Supervisors for its Monday, November 9, 2026, meeting.
Three manure management reports included in the supervisors’ meeting packet detail swine operations with a combined capacity of 9,890 hogs and annual manure production totaling approximately 2.85 million gallons. The facilities and their proposed manure application acreage extend across Cerro Gordo, Franklin and Floyd counties.
The reports, prepared by Cerro Gordo County Public Health, identify concerns involving the proximity of manure application fields to towns, recreational areas, wildlife habitat and waterways. One operation also reports a substantial increase in manure production compared with the previous year.
The most significant change involves Amaracon LLC, also identified as the Gray Barn Facility, located at 2661 Balsam Avenue near Dougherty in Floyd County.
According to an October 30 report submitted by Lauren Hunt of Cerro Gordo County Public Health, the facility houses 2,490 hogs and produces an estimated 963,706 gallons of manure annually, up from 596,900 gallons in the previous reporting period.
That represents a 61% increase in manure production, a change specifically identified among the county’s concerns.
The report states that the operation is not expanding its hog confinement facility, raising questions about the factors behind the substantial increase in reported manure volume.
Amaracon’s manure management plan identifies 545.8 acres available for manure application, including 290.1 acres in Floyd County and 255.7 acres in three fields in Cerro Gordo County.
Public health officials identified several geographic concerns associated with the application areas.
The fields are approximately 2¼ miles from Dougherty and 2½ miles from Cartersville. More importantly from a water-management standpoint, Beem’s Creek floodplain dissects fields in Section 12 of Dougherty Township, while a small waterway runs through another application field in Section 13.
The county report also notes a change in crop rotation compared with the previous year’s manure management plan.
Those findings raise questions about how the additional manure will be managed, whether the designated application acreage is sufficient and what safeguards apply to spreading manure near waterways and flood-prone land.
The documents do not indicate that Amaracon has violated environmental regulations or that manure has contaminated nearby water resources.
Another operation drawing attention is Braun Farms, a swine confinement facility located at 3378 100th Street near Meservey in Cerro Gordo County.
The operation houses approximately 2,400 hogs and produces an estimated 613,200 gallons of manure annually, stored in pits beneath the confinement buildings.
According to the county’s October 30 report, Braun Farms plans to use 230 acres for manure application. Of that total, 167.1 acres are located in three fields in Grimes Township in Cerro Gordo County, with another 62.9 acres in Wisner Township in Franklin County.
Unlike Amaracon, the Braun Farms report indicates that no changes were made to the manure management plan during the past year.
Nevertheless, county health officials identified several concerns about the locations where manure could be applied.
Some application acreage is adjacent to Meservey’s city limits. Other designated fields are approximately 2½ miles from Thornton and the Ring-Neck Wildlife Area, while another application area is about a half-mile from the Prairie Land Trail.
The proximity of agricultural manure application to residential communities and public recreational areas is among the issues identified for county review.
The largest manure producer among the three facilities is Elk Run Farms Inc., identified in the report as the Paul Finisher Farm, located at 334 250th Street near Meservey in Franklin County.
The facility has a capacity of 5,000 hogs and produces an estimated 1,277,500 gallons of manure annually, according to a November 3 report from Cerro Gordo County Public Health.
The operation’s manure management plan identifies 919.6 acres across six fields for land application, including 190.9 acres in Cerro Gordo County and the remaining acreage in Franklin County.
County officials noted that the plan includes a change in crop rotation from the previous year.
The geographic concerns listed for Elk Run Farms include manure application fields approximately three-quarters of a mile from Meservey, two miles from Thornton, two miles from the Bailey Creek Waterfowl Production Area and 1½ miles from the Ring-Neck Wildlife Area.
One manure application field is also approximately one-eighth of a mile from the Prairie Land Trail.
Combined, the three swine facilities report annual manure production of 2,854,406 gallons, although not all of that manure is designated for application within Cerro Gordo County.
The reports illustrate the scale of manure management associated with large livestock confinement operations and the responsibility of local and state officials to review plans that involve agricultural land near communities and environmentally sensitive locations.
Livestock manure is commonly used as fertilizer, providing nutrients for crop production. However, its storage, transportation and application must be managed appropriately to reduce the potential for nutrient runoff and impacts on water quality.
In Cerro Gordo County, the review process is governed in part by Resolution 2003-123, which established a county policy for receiving, reviewing and commenting on manure management plans.
Under that policy, the county’s Environmental Service Manager is directed to review submitted plans within seven days and prepare a report for the Board of Supervisors identifying issues to forward to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The reports involving Braun Farms, Amaracon LLC and Elk Run Farms were prepared as part of that process.
Although all three reports identify concerns, the documents do not establish that any of the facilities are operating illegally, that manure has been improperly applied or that nearby waterways have been polluted.
They also do not establish that manure production is increasing across all three operations. Amaracon’s reported 61% increase is the only explicit increase in manure production identified in the packet.
Still, the Amaracon figures raise an important question for regulators and residents: When a confinement operation reports hundreds of thousands of additional gallons of manure annually without expanding its hog capacity, how will that additional volume be accommodated under the existing manure management plan?
The location of manure application fields near Beem’s Creek floodplain, waterways and public recreational areas adds another dimension to the county’s review.
The documents do not specify whether the Iowa DNR has requested changes to the manure management plans, imposed additional restrictions or determined that the proposed application practices satisfy all applicable requirements.
They also do not indicate whether county supervisors will seek additional information from the operators or state regulators.
The three reports are included in the materials presented to the Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors for its November 9 meeting.
For residents in and around Meservey, Thornton, Dougherty and neighboring rural communities, the reports provide a closer look at the substantial quantities of livestock manure produced in the region, the farmland designated to receive it and the environmental concerns county health officials are documenting for state review.
Be interested in seeing how this works itself out. Will the present state government protect the facilities or will they prosecute/?