Managing editor
Many believe God works in mysterious ways and among those is Mike Beneke of rural Lincolnville.
Beneke and wife Cindy are owners of Double B Cattle Company. In February 2006, a complaint was filed about his confined cattle operation with Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which resulted in an inspection.
Unfortunately, Beneke did not have a permit to operate the large feedlot. He was fined $31,000, and was told to become compliant or get rid of the cattle.
Among compliance issues were a wastewater lagoon system, which required a sizeable amount of dirt work, and an underground drainage system.
Beneke applied for a permit but the wheels of justice turned slower than what he wanted, or at least what he thought he wanted at the time.
Plans were to have the work completed last year at this time but one delay led to another and the work just recently began.
“If I would have done it a year ago, it could have cost me $70,000 to $80,000 more because of fuel costs,” Beneke said.
So, what is this project costing him? Roughly $800,000, with $170,000 of it being a cost share from KDHE.
“The easy part is doing it. The hard part is paying for it,” Beneke said with a smile.
A KDHE permit is required for any cattle operation with more than 1,000 head. At the time of the inspection, Beneke owned 5,200 head.
“There weren’t 5,200 head of cattle on my land but on paper I owned 5,200 head,” Beneke said in a July 2006 interview.
At that time, the total number of cattle located in pens west of his residence and in a smaller pen near his house was 3,000-3,500.
On Feb. 25, Greg Bland of KDHE and First National Bank of Hope President Dan Coup and friends gathered at the feedlot to commemorate the project. Beneke had less than 2,000 head.
In all, Beneke will apply for five permits. He still has two or three to go.
After he meets all of the compliance issues, he will be permitted to feed 5,000 head of cattle. The permit will be valid until 2014.
Compliance issues
It all started when someone complained about the feedlot to the state agency.
In an interview, July 19, 2006, Beneke said he knew that eventually a complaint would be filed against him.
“Officials knew I was here before but without any complaints, nothing could be done,” Beneke said.
According to Sharon Watson, KDHE communications director, Beneke had operated the feedlot without water pollution controls and was practicing improper collection, handling, and disposal of animal and other wastes.
At that time, there were two main pens. The “west” pen had a capacity of approximately 2,000 head of cattle and was approximately 250 feet from a waterway, which feeds to Middle Creek. A pen had been built within 10 feet of the streambed, read the report.
A KDHE water sample at that time indicated there was a high level of fecal coliform. Luckily, the water was on private property, Watson said, and did not become a health risk but remained a concern to KDHE.
The “east” pen had a capacity of 3,000 head and drained into a small field that bordered Middle Creek. The report indicated that Beneke had removed approximately one-half mile of the Middle Creek bank area.
Beneke was ordered to remove cattle from the west pen and dismantle the small pen located near the water bank.
Changes and construction
Since that time, new pens continue to be constructed in an area, about 36 acres, that has been approved by KDHE. A lagoon system also has been approved in that area. With the start of the lagoon project, the pens can be completed because Beneke knows for sure where they should be located.
The lagoon will be 200 feet wide and 800 feet long. It will be no more than 13 feet deep from the bottom to the burm, Beneke said, with a four-to-six-foot operating level.
Additional dirt will be placed in the former pens and native grass will be re-established.
About the operation
Beneke knows investing this much money in this operation is risky.
He purchases cattle from a buyer, fattens them up to 1,200 pounds, usually within three to six months, and then sells them for a profit.
Two types of feed are given to the cattle — grower ration which is silage, distillers, and wheat mids (a byproduct of wheat), and finishing ration which is corn, alfalfa, hay, and wet distillers.
The cost of feed is approximately $2 per day per head for finishing rations and $1.40 per day per head for growing rations. Currently there are approximately 1,850 on finishing ration and the remainder on grower ration.
A reduction in corn prices also have helped his operation since corn now is $3-4 per bushel compared with $7-8 last summer, Beneke said.
Beneke hopes this venture pays off to meet the loan obligation and because his heart is in raising cattle. There is nothing else he would rather do.
“I’m in this for the long haul. I always have been.
“The good Lord looks out for those who can’t look out for themselves,” Beneke said, “and I’m hoping he’ll look out for me.”