‘The smell of death’: At hearing in Firth, neighbors raise stink over farm’s composting

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Neighbors of a dairy farm filled the Firth Community Center on Wednesday night to push back against the renewal of the farm’s composting permit.

Prairieland Dairy handles more than 500,000 pounds of agricultural waste every day and is seeking to renew its permit for the next 10 years.

Those who live nearby say the stench from the composting is unbearable.

“I believe all of you would agree, this is the smell of death, the smell of a chemical,” Carlos Monzon said at the public hearing. “This is a smell that is not associated with agriculture.”

SEE ALSO: A pungent problem: Rural Firth residents upset over composting stench from dairy farm

One nearby homeowner said the smell is so bad, he missed out on a chance to sell his property.

“When they came by the property, the smell was so bad, they said, ‘Our offer’s off the table,” the man said.

Some of the complaints at the hearing went beyond the smell to truck traffic, insect and rodent infestations, and lower property values.

Neighbors said they’re not trying to put the dairy farm out of business; they just want to come to a compromise about the composting.

“It would be nice if we had give-and-take on both sides and make sure that we are able to limit some of the impacts that the compost has,” Dean Easterman said.

Representatives of Prairieland said the company abides by the rules but is keeping an open mind to the concerns brought up at the meeting.