“What’s that smell?”

For those checking their shoes the past two days, seeing if they may have stepped in something, they didn’t.

The source of the foul smell enveloping the city the past two days has been pinpointed to local farmers spreading turkey manure on fields east of Washington.

“We have been doing some spreading, yes,” Trent Boyd with Boyd Grain said. “All (turkey manure) that we currently have is spread.”

Combined with dry weather and northeast winds, the smell spread across the city Wednesday and Thursday, leaving many to wonder where it was coming from.

Debbie Neukam, executive secretary with Mayor Larry Haag’s office, said the mayor’s office had received complaints about the smell.

“(We’ve had) not a bunch but we have received a few,” Neukam said.

But the smell, while unpleasant, does not pose a health risk. Daviess County Environmental Health Specialist Geoff Stoner said the odor will not cause health issues.

“Generally, odor is not a health risk unless it’s toxic,” Stoner said. “As long as they (farmers) are following the proper guidelines by the USDA, it is safe.”

The National Weather Service predicts more of the same weather for today as the past two days, with sunny skies with a high of 84 degrees. Also, the wind will come from the northeast at five to 14 miles per hour with gusts up to 18 miles per hour.