Animal Waste: Let's Talk Turkey

The number of permits issued for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) lags the number of approved operations, sometimes by a considerable margin. For example, in Wisconsin, a single CAFO permit covers 55 sites controlled by a corporation that specializes in turkey production. Prior to 2002, the state had issued permits for each site. This change in permitting means that the reported number of permitted operations fails to give an accurate picture of how fast the CAFO market, with its more severe waste management and runoff control needs, has expanded. CAFOs are large operations for beef, poultry, dairy, and pork production, generally raising more than 1000 animals on a single site. In California, some dairies have more than 3000 cows, and the amount of exposed waste has led to the dairy-rich San Joaquin Valley posting air-quality ratings as poor as Los Angeles’ and Houston’s. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state regulatory agencies are particularly concerned with waste management and runoff control on barn-confined and open lot operations. (Pasture-grazing operations do not present the same immediate threats.) Still, CAFOs are the trend, even for former small farms as they struggle to compete. Needs in the industry: Better waste lagoon design, waste liners, lagoon containment covers (tied to methane harvesting systems) and runoff control methods affiliated with NPDES. Many CAFOs must file for National Pollutant Elimination Discharge System (NPDES) permits.