Courtesy Photo/Image Non-specific feedlot

The possibility of a bigger cattle feed yard near North Platte has the neighborhood alarmed.

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The Beer Creek Ranch five miles west of North Platte is applying for a zoning permit to feed up to 7,000 cattle at any one time.

The operation is on South Platte River Road between North Platte and Hershey. It is south of the river and north of Interstate-80.

Beer Creek will come before the Lincoln County Planning and Zoning Commission Sept. 8.

They want a permit to renovate catch basins, a holding pond and piping to an irrigation system that distributes manure, according to their application.

Beer Creek also wants to redesign a portion of the existing feedyard to make a more favorable environment for cattle and effectively reduce odor, the application says.

Beer Creek currently feeds 7,000 head at times now, according to the application.

But, the operation does not have a zoning permit, county zoning administrator Judy Clark said, so the permit, if granted, would officially grant the right to feed 7,000 head at all times.

That doesn’t sit well with Jim Riemers, who lives a half mile away.

Riemers is a retired railroad worker who lives on Kovanda Road, directly north across the river. A half-dozen people live near Riemers, within a half mile of Beer Creek.

Reimers said he put most of his life savings into his home and acreage when he retired. He says cattle feed yards are squeezing him.

The Olson feed yard, with a capacity of 12,000 head, is about a half-mile on the other side of Riemers’ home.

And last spring, hundreds of starlings fell dead from trees in Reimers’ neighborhood, poisoned at the Olson feed yard.

Reimers said that was gripping evidence of the negative effects that confined animal feeding operations have on residential property. If the Deer Creek feeds more cattle, he expects the value of his property to drop drastically.

The ranch is no stranger to controversy. In July 2005, blowing sand and dust across I-80 contributed to an eight-car pileup that killed the two Colorado women and a Nebraska man.

At the time, the land was under different owners and named the U-Cross ranch. The exact source of the clouds of dust was disputed later in legal filings. The accident was complicated by strong winds that blew from 30-50 miles per hour across I-80.

The victims’ families filed suit against the U-Cross. The suit was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

The U-Cross sold to Beer Creek early in 2008.

Reimers said he has no general complaints toward cattle. He commonly helps friends and family move cattle to and from pastures.

“I think feedlots and the cattle business are great for Nebraska and Lincoln County,” he said.

He hopes the feedlot might locate in the hills were the population is relatively sparse.

The owners of the Beer Creek could not be reached for comment.

The planning commission will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the county commissioners meeting room in the east end of the Lincoln County Courthouse.

All interested persons are invited to attend or submit written comments, Clark said.