Farley dairy suspected of repeated creek contamination

A dairy farm in northeast Iowa has stormwater drains that might have repeatedly carried manure from the site into a tributary of Johns Creek, according to state regulators.

Strief Farms, of rural Farley in Dubuque County, recently agreed to pay a $7,500 fine for the creek contamination.

The issue was first reported by someone in August 2022 who saw manure in the creek about 40 miles northeast of Cedar Rapids.

"It was determined that the manure was likely coming from Strief Farms through a tile intake to the tributary and then to Johns Creek," according to a recent Iowa Department of Natural Resources order. "However, at the time of the investigation there was no active discharge occurring."

The DNR sent a non-compliance letter to the dairy but did not fine it at the time. The dairy, which has about 925 cattle, capped the intake to prevent further contamination.

But it later installed a new stormwater intake near a cattle shelter that was meant to capture precipitation from its roof, said Brian Jergenson, a senior environmental specialist for the department who investigated the incidents.

In December 2023, someone reported seeing manure and milk in the creek tributary and added: "This has been ongoing for years."

This time when Jergenson went to the dairy, he noted manure actively going into the new intake. Matt Strief, the dairy's owner, said he was unaware of the problem, the DNR order said.

Jergenson also noticed that manure-laden snow had been piled near a different tile intake nearby and was likely contributing to the problem.

Manure that goes into the drains flows about 2,000 feet underground before it emerges in a wooded area south of the dairy. During the second investigation at the point it emerges, the water smelled like manure and had solid waste material.

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Tests of that water — and of water 500 feet downstream — showed high levels of ammonia nitrogen, an indicator of manure contamination.

The DNR ordered the dairy to pay a fine and to develop plans to prevent future discharges into the stream.

In April 2024 — after the investigations but before the fine was recently levied — the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship awarded a $20,000 grant to the diary to help purchase “labor reducing technology.”

The Choose Iowa Dairy Innovation Grant Program is open to dairies with fewer than 50 employees that are “in good standing with pertinent regulatory agencies,” the ag department said.

Comments: (319) 368-8541; jared.strong@thegazette.com