Concentrated animal feeding operations have continued to sustain meat and dairy industries since their implementation many decades ago by providing a steady flow of livestock for food chains for home and consumers abroad.
Contrary to popular belief, Kansas State University extension livestock specialist Joel DeRouchey says CAFOs present a more efficient opportunity to raise livestock with less stress on the environment.
“While CAFOs can get a bad rap due to their ability to house many animals in one location, they face some of the most stringent regulations for environmental protection, which is good for surrounding land and water quality,” he points out on Agriculture Today with the K-State Radio Network.
After considering what’s regulated, how CAFOs handle manure, how it’s applied and the regulations and inspections involved from both the state and potentially the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), DeRouchey says these operations are in business for a reason.
“They’re doing a very good stewardship for both for the land and water quality,” he adds.
But Josh McCann, associate professor of animal science at the University of Illinois, says it’s understandable people may have questions about CAFOs.
“I think it’s easy to get nervous or ask questions about things that we’re not exposed to, that we aren’t very familiar with,” McCann says.
CAFOs are highly professional environments led by teams of experts who help those animals remain healthy, grow in a productive way and provide an extremely affordable protein for Americans and people around the world, he adds.
“We have some of the very best nutritionists, the very best veterinarians, the very best management experts working at these facilities to help those animals actually grow and prosper,” McCann says. “I don’t think people truly appreciate the amount of effort, investment of time and people and science that goes into this.”
Is Your Operation a CAFO?
CAFOs include cattle and small ruminant feedlots, confined large indoor and outdoor swine and poultry operations and dairy facilities that meet the criteria as a CAFO. Once a CAFO is designated for a site, it has both state and federal requirements under which it must operate.
The challenge is every state is different when it comes to its respective state regulations, he says.
“Permitting of different livestock species could be different within a state and certainly is across states,” DeRouchey says. “But the bigger pictures items are the same.”
To be a CAFO, EPA explains that farms must first be an Animal Feeding Operation (AFO). If a farm does not meet the definition of an AFO, the EPA rules do not apply to it.
The AFO definition has two parts: Part 1 - A lot or facility where animals have been, are, or will be confined and fed or maintained for a total of 45 days or more in any 12-month period. Part 2 - Where vegetation (crops, forage, post-harvest residues) is not sustained in the normal growing season over any portion of the lot or facility.
“There are many factors to consider when determining if your farm is a CAFO. Bottom line: Manage your farm in a way that ensures no discharges to WOTUS,” the Illinois Pork Producers Association says on its website.
For example, in Kansas, any facility with an animal unit capacity of 300 or greater must register with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). Additionally – regardless of size – any facility that presents a significant water pollution potential must obtain a permit as determined by KDHE.
“Feedlot cattle over 700 pounds would be considered a single animal unit, 700 lb. and less is a half and cattle such as a lactating dairy cow would be considered 1.4,” DeRouchey says. “These figures relate to their feed intakes and the amount of manure produced per body weight.”
Another factor to consider when determining the size of your CAFO is if a farmer has multiple sites where animals are confined, they must determine if those sites are separate AFOs or should be combined. In Illinois, under the IL EPA Livestock Rules, two or more AFOs under common ownership would be a single AFO if the AFOs are adjacent to each other or the AFOs utilize a common area or system for handling or disposing of manure.
“Most situations in which pigs are raised will likely be defined as an AFO,” IPPA says. “If your farm is an AFO, then you must determine if you are a small, medium or large CAFO, which factors in the number of animals that are confined on the farm and whether pollutants are being discharged into Waters of the U.S (WOTUS).”
When determining if the operation has any discharges, a farmer must look at the entire production area including manure storage, feed storage and dead animal composting to determine if there is a discharge.
“CAFOs are strictly permitted to have full containment of all rainwater and runoff that reaches a pen surface, and the same goes for cleaning pen surfaces,” DeRouchey explains. “Manure must be stored in a contained area until it’s moved out to fields for spreading.”
Compliance is Key
Many regulations like these are in place to help keep the environment, water and land safe for multiple generations, McCann says.
To ensure compliance with these regulations, CAFOs undergo periodic on-site state inspections and a permit renewal where producers update their paperwork and nutrient management plan with any changes to the operation. An essential part of that process is developing a new nutrient management plan that says what’s going to occur with the application of manure to the agronomic crop ground surrounding the facility, DeRouchey says.
“With soil tests and manure samples taken, new projections are completed to ensure that the manure produced on those operations fits all the acreage,” DeRouchey says.
The challenge is those nutrient management plans are pretty region-specific, McCann says.
“Rainfall here in central Illinois is extremely different from rainfall in western Kansas,” he adds. “The appropriate ways you need to manage the nutrients in your animal waste is accordingly also very different. I think that’s one of the reasons why we have a lot of state-by-state regulation within this area.”
Compliance starts before the CAFO is constructed. Assessments, based on the species housed in the CAFO, look at criteria like geography. For example, in feedlots, rainwater drainage containment, manure storage areas, and agronomic manure application plans rank as some of the most crucial considerations.
Be a Good Neighbor
The one thing that’s not regulated directly is odors, DeRouchey says. Owners routinely clean pen surfaces as well on the outdoor facilities because the top layer of manure can turn into dust if it’s there too long, and that can carry odor from the CAFO to surrounding areas.
“We know that large or small operations have odor from livestock,” he adds. “And that doesn’t matter if you only have a couple animals or a lot of animals. What owners often do is look at, where can they potentially put up windbreaks? Where is the prevailing wind coming off of those facilities? How does that impact the surrounding area? How do they minimize potential dust? Because odor really travels a lot on dust.”
Being a good steward and making sure we’re minimizing any potential impact that our livestock farms would have on the surrounding area involves being aware of how it affects our neighbors, DeRouchey says.
Eldon McAfee, attorney with Brick Gentry P.C. in West Des Moines, Iowa, says operational environmental management extends to neighbor awareness, communication and good relations.
“Don’t ignore neighbors who aren’t happy with your operation. Keep those lines of communication open,” McAfee says. “For example, when you apply manure, try to let everyone know. Attend educational seminars and obtain certifications to show you are being a good neighbor. Make sure employees are up to date on best practices when it comes to being a good neighbor, too.”
Can We Feed the World Without CAFOs?
CAFOs exist for a reason, McCann says. Some of those reasons are economic-related, and some of those are people-related.
“I would make the case that there are not enough people who want to work in the livestock industry and meet our animal protein needs without CAFOs now,” he says. “It’s pretty hard to imagine feeding a world that really craves lean, healthy, wholesome protein from livestock today without CAFOs. That’s difficult to do in my mind.”
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