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Ward Feedyard was started in 1962 by Wayne Ward when he purchased an operation of about 1500 head. By 1978 the yard had grown to around 12,000 head. The feedyard, which is located two miles from Larned, Kansas, was known as a good neighbor to the town. In the early 1970s, a 10,000 head backgrounding yard, Pawnee Beef Builders, started down the road. As these two operations grew, the dust and odor problems increased. "Both of us (Ward and Pawnee) were taking a lot of heat over the odor and dust. Truthfully, the people that had been in town a long time had become accustomed to it, but the new people coming into town didn't think it should be this way," said Lee Borck, President of Ward Feedyard. "So we started looking for ways we could co-exist with the people in town. We searched for two or three years."
"We asked the city before we put the system in if they were interested in a way for us to reduce the dust by as much as 85 percent, and they gave us a reluctant "yes." They were skeptical as to whether we could control the dust. We then asked the city for an expansion permit with water zoning because the yard is within the three mile zone around Larned. "We were taking a risk, looking at a lot of ways to acquire the water to put through this system. We elected to bring our own water we had under CRP ground about five miles away." The sprinkler system uses 425,000 to 500,000 gallons of water per day, which is about the equivalent of two irrigated circles. According to planners, it was cheaper to pay for the pipeline from the CRP ground than giving up the production on two irrigated quarters around the feed yard. The feed yard had been appropriated 435 acre feet of water on an annual basis for this program. This, however, is the absolute maximum water use if the feedyard were to use the sprinkler system for a full six months.
"We had to satisfy 13 different agencies in the state of Kansas to make sure we weren't in violation," said Borck. "The oddest one was the state historical society wanting us to certify there hadn't been an Indian encampment where we crossed the river." The system went online in the spring of 1996 and has worked. It has reduced both the dust and odor problems the city was complaining about. "The dust was the main problem. After we had that controlled, we started looking at the secondary problem of odor control. We found a product that had apparently worked in hog lagoons reducing the odor by a chemical reaction of changing the nitrates into nitrites. We were the only feedyard in Kansas that could deliver over an entire yard with this sprinkler system," said Borck. 
"It doesn't totally eliminate the odor, but it does take the sharpness out of it and reduce it to a level so we don't have the complaints from town. Ninety five percent of the time we have it at a level that is tolerable for the people in the community."Ward Feedyard is also finding additional benefits from the sprinkler system. There has been a reduction in respiratory problems and death loss due to the dust. Currently, the feed yard is looking at a death loss rate of under three-tenths of a percent. The cattle also eat better during the summer because they are cooler, according to Borck. "The cattle are more comfortable so they are eating more often. We don't have the normal drop in summer consumption," said Borck. The sprinkler cools the yard from two to five degrees on a 95 degree day. It has also made it much better for our pen riders. Our cowboys were riding pens with goggles and dust masks before we put this system in, and it is not necessary today." The system cost about $25 per head to install or about $650,000, including the five mile pipeline. The cost would be less for yards with water available right at the site. Borck said the two things that will keep people from doing this are the availability of water and the initial cost. 
"We have our records which we believe give us an advantage with the use of this system. There are many variables involved such as rainfall, temperature, cost of grain, roughage, death loss, medical treatments, etc. which would need to be considered in determining the advantages of operating the system," Borck said."We know it stops the odor and dust problems. The cattle move to the bunk when the sprinklers come on and our death loss is down significantly during the months the system is used," Borck said. |
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