LEWIS -- Tough environmental regulations are forcing some cattle producers and researchers to think inside the hoop.

Open feedlots have traditionally been a popular way to finish cattle in Iowa. That could change if initial findings of a three-year cattle feeding study utilizing hoop buildings hold true.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources are stepping up enforcement of the Clean Water Act of 1972. As it pertains to beef producers, the law requires farmers to keep manure from feedlots from entering the water supply. Five- and six-digit fines for failing to do so have been levied in recent years.

But updating feedlots with settling basins, or building facilities featuring total manure containment -- a requirement some officials hint may not be far off -- can be an expensive proposition.

The Armstrong research and demonstration farm near Lewis is testing the theory that hoop buildings -- normally used for hog production and feed and equipment storage -- are an economical and environmentally-safe alternative for housing cattle.

The farm built a hoop 120 feet long, 50 feet wide and 26 feet tall to accommodate 120-head of cattle split into three pens. It is housing its second batch of cattle with remarkable success.

Dallas Maxwell, farm manager, said he was skeptical about whether the hoop would work as well as an open or semi-open feedlot. He didn't know if the cattle would perform as well and feared it would be too much work.

"I was really amazed. I haven't seen any difference in gain or feed efficiency," Maxwell said. "I've been around cattle for 30-some years and I thought it would be a lot wetter inside (promoting health problems). And I'm not spending as much time as I thought."

The open-ended hoop barn is covered with a polyvinyl tarp stretched over trusses. It has sidewalls with a covered feedbunk along one side of the building.

The floor consists of a 20-foot-wide slab of cement by a feed bunk that stretches the length of the building. The rest of the area is dirt and rock with a fabric underneath that doesn't allow animal waste to pass through.

Besides feeding, Maxwell spends about 1 hour a week scraping the cement and placing a round bale of corn stalks in each pen for bedding. The cattle bed themselves.

"The cattle will tear it (a corn stalk bale) apart in 15 minutes," Maxwell said.

Animal waste is absorbed by the bedding, which is composted and hauled for fertilizer. The building is totally cleaned after cattle are sold.

"For people concerned about regulations, you have total containment (avoiding EPA concerns of runoff) in a alternative housing system without spending as much," said Mark Honeyman, Iowa State University Extension animal science professor who oversees the college's research farms.

The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture provided a $20,000 grant to help pay for construction of the hoop barn, which was completed in November 2004. Iowa cattle producers also made personal donations.

A beef confinement facility, with no manure runoff, costs about $500 per animal space, Honeyman said. A hoop, on the other hand, can provide the same environmental protection for about $300 per animal space.

A new open feedlot is still considerably less at $150 to $200 per animal space, officials said, but pollution concerns remain. Bringing an open feedlot into compliance with environmental laws can run anywhere from $2 to more than $50 per animal.

"Environmental challenges are big ones for open feedlots, and hoops are noticeably less expensive than other building styles. But we've always wondered if they would work for beef cattle," said Shawn Shouse, an ISU Extension agriculture engineer. "The system could provide the greatest advantage for small and mid-sized beef finishing operations."

Iowa ranks eighth in the country in cattle and calves at 3.45 million head. The vast majority of operations are less than 1,000 head, which fall in the mid-size or small category.

Honeyman said researchers will monitor cattle performance and behavior as well as the environment inside the hoop barn. Soil quality in and around the barn will also be checked.

"We're still not sure how cattle will grade comparatively, or how profitable it will be, but we do know it works," Honeyman said.

To visit the farm, contact Maxwell at dallasm@iastate.edu or call (712) 769-2402.

Contact Matthew Wilde at (319) 391-1579 or matt.wilde@wcfcourier.com.