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Richardson County Board Reviews "Livestock Friendly" Designation

By John Nixon

04/22/2015

(KLZA)-- Richardson County Commissioners spent nearly an hour Tuesday discussing whether or not to proceed with an application to be certified as a “Livestock Friendly County.”

Justine Petsch with the Nebraska Farm Bureau met with the Board. Steve Martin with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture took part via conference call. The program is now in its 12th year and currently there are 29 Nebraska counties designated as Livestock Friendly. Martin said the designation is an economic development tool indicating a county is supportive of the livestock industry.

As part of the application the County would need to conduct a public hearing, and then be reviewed by the Ag Department to see if the County meets enough of the criteria for certification. Richardson County Attorney Doug Merz asked several questions concerning the County, committing to the criteria outlined in the application since Richardson County does not have zoning in place.

One of the criteria Merz raised concerns about was the County enforcing Department of Environmental Quality regulations.

Martin said the designation is similar to other designations such at Tree City USA, where a third party such as the state verifies the claim the county if friendly toward the livestock industry.

Martin told Commissioners he could attend a meeting in a couple of weeks after trying to clarify the responsibilities of the County if they were to become certified.

The Richardson County Farm Bureau had requested the Board to seek the Livestock Friendly designation.

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