Manure Spill Clean Up Underway at Olmsted County Farm
Eyota, MN (KROC AM News) -Representatives of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency visited an Olmsted County dairy farm on Tuesday to check on the cleanup of a significant manure spill.
MPCA spokeswoman Cathy Rofshus says the leak occurred Monday night at a small dairy operation with about 50 cows north of Eyota. She says the farmer immediately took action to control the leak after noticing a valve had broken in the farm’s manure piping system.
Rofshus says the manure is being contained by hay bales placed in ditches and a berm around the feedlot. Some of it will be scraped up, but Rofshus says some of it will likely soak into the soil at the site.
The owners of the property in the 9000 block of Silver Creek Road Northeast, Charles and Carrie Sachs, told the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Department the leak involved less than 200,000 gallons of manure.
The University of Minnesota last year named the Sachs as one of its farm families of the year. According to the news release:
“The Sachs family’s dairy farm has registered herds of Brown Swiss and Holsteins on their 320-acre farm, where they grow most of the animals’ feed needs. Charlie is in charge of the management of the farm, feeding, mixing of all cow and heifer feed. He’s in charge of the herd’s breeding program and he handles most of the field work. Carrie milks the cows, oversees herd health and the bookwork. She also works full-time as a nurse at Methodist Hospital in Rochester. The Sachs have been involved over the years in 4-H and FFA. Charlie is a board member of Plainview Milk Cooperative. Both Charlie and Carrie are members of the Olmsted County American Dairy Association and Carrie is the county coordinator for the Princess Kay program.”
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