The Truth About Livestock and Pollution Livestock Operations

The Truth About Livestock and Pollution

Livestock Operations • Livestock production operations include: • • Dairy Farms Beef Cattle Operations Chicken Farms Swine Barns • Most modern operations are Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) • These operations contribute not only to our food supply, but are huge contributors to our economy too!

Greenhouse Gases Livestock operations, mainly cattle operations, do produce greenhouse gases, including methane, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia which can effect the atmosphere and quality of life of those living near operations. But claims of their contribution to the overall pollution problem have been exaggerated. A beef cattle feedlot

Compare the Sources • CLAIMS: According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization – globally, livestock contributes 18% to GHG emissions – This figure is an overestimation and isn’t consistent with other, trusted government agency information. • REALITY: According to EPA and WRI: – EPA: the entire U. S. agriculture sector accounts for only 6. 3% of U. S. GHG emission, and livestock accounts for 2. 8% – WRI: livestock accounts for 5. 1% of GHG emission globally, and 2. 8% in the United States

Greenhouse Gases: EPA 2007 Report Emissions Contributor Percent Contributed Electrical Power Industry 34. 4% Transportation 27. 9% Industry 19. 4% Agriculture 7. 0% Commercial 5. 7% Residential 5. 0%

Claims of Air and Water Pollution • YES Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) do contribute to air and water pollution. • BUT management and control measures are used to reduce this problem and more are in development!

How do Livestock Operations Contribute? • Air– Emission refers to the rate at which gases or particulates are released into ambient air, generally expressed in mass per unit time. – CAFOs can produce emissions of: • odorants • odor carrying particulates • volatile organic compounds – Odor from CAFOs can cause health responses from • People who are frequently exposed to high concentrations • People who have particular sensitivities to exposure

How do Livestock Operations Contribute? • Water– Improper management of manure, wastewater, and carcasses on dairy farms and in feedlots can lead to contamination of water sources. – Manure produced by cattle on grazing land can contaminate rivers, and eventually lakes.

Regulations • The Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Act requires that CAFOs take appropriate actions to manage manure in order to protect the water quality. – All large CAFOs must apply for a permit, submit an annual report, and develop a plan for handling manure and wastewater. • Best Management Practices are used by beef producers to maintain the air quality surrounding their operations.

Location of Livestock Operations • Most livestock operations were originally isolated in areas of low population density • As some areas of high population have expanded, CAFOs, like the swine barns in Texas, have moved to the Panhandle. • If CAFOs can remain isolated from residential areas, it will minimize the number of people exposed to potential pollutants.

Population Density 2000 Source: U. S. Census Bureau

Review 1. What different kinds of livestock operations are there? 2. According to EPA, what percent does agriculture contribute to greenhouse gas emission? 3. What is the best way to minimize the number of people exposed to potential pollutants?

Methods of Management Efforts are always being made to develop new methods for managing waste in a productive way By using waste products to produce energy, CAFOs can reduce water pollution AND run their operations more efficiently. • Ag. STAR-Recovery and use of Methane from animal manure

Dairy Farms all have lagoons, which are manure storage basins dug into the ground and lined to prevent absorption into the soil. Solids settle to the bottom of the lagoons and bacteria and microorganisms break down the manure, resulting in a nutrient-rich “wastewater” with less odor that can serve as a natural fertilizer when spread on fields.

Methods for Managing Dairy Farms • Electrocoagulation • Geotube Dewatering System • Gasification

Electrocoagulation System This system uses a series of devices and pre-chemical treatment to separate nutrients and metals from dairy lagoon effluent

The Geotube® Dewatering System This technology uses large porous tubes made from heavy-duty synthetic fabric that trap solids from the lagoon and allow water to escape Chopper pump mixing the lagoon Residual solids in dewatered Geotube

Geotube® and Turfgrass Sod This technology recycles Geotube solids into on-farm turfgrass production for value-added crop export

Beef Cattle Operations • Feedlots – Air Pollution • Cattle on Pasture – Water Pollution

Feedlots • Feedlots produce air pollution in the form of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide These compounds produce unwanted odors that affect the quality of life for those living near feedlots

Feedlots • Approaches to odor control include: – Ration/diet modification – Manure treatment – Capture/treatment of emitted gases – Enhanced dispersion

Grazing Lands • Grazing lands are the dominant land use throughout most of Texas. • Nearly half of the lower 48 states is grazing land: range, pasture, hay, and grazed forest. • Cattle on grazing lands have recently been identified as significant contributors of excessive bacteria in several water bodies.

Grazing Lands – Pollution clean up and prevention programs in the US: – Lone Star Healthy Streams – Reducing Polluted Runoff-Nonpoint Sources

Review 1. Which method is overall the most effective at reducing pollutants in manure on dairy farms? 2. What is the main type of pollution caused by feedlots? 3. What has the state of Texas done to counter pollution in water bodies?

Poultry Farms • Poultry production farms main concern is air pollution. – Mostly chronic or long-term exposure to gases, dust, or microorganisms. – Ammonia and Hydrogen Sulfide are culprits. – Acute or short-term exposures to high concentrations of certain constituents can also cause health problems. • Particulate matter and dust are primarily composed of feed animal matter including hair, feathers, and feces.

Current Research for Reduction of Air Pollution from Poultry • Dietary influence on gas emissions and particulates from turkey and laying hen operations • Dietary influence on gas emissions and particulates from broiler confinement • Commercial broiler house ammonia emission rates • Factors influencing gas (especially ammonia) production during poultry manure storage • The effect of manure management practices on air emissions • Reducing odor and dust around poultry and egg production confinements by planting trees, shrubs and perennial plants

Swine Barns • Hydrogen Sulfide – Air • Ammonia – Air and Water Many states require that swine producers have a certified waste management plan.

Waste Management: Example Storage/Denitrification/ Phosphorous Removal Tanks Lagoon

Waste Management Methods • • Earthen basins Above ground storages Belted Manure Removal Solids Separation-Reciprocating Wetland Upflow Biofilter High Solids Anaerobic Digester Constructed Wetlands System Many still being tested!

Review • What is the main waste product of poultry farms? • Of swine barns? • What are some ideas being tested for waste management?

Basic Goals to Reduce Pollution 1. Eliminate the discharge of animal waste to surface waters and groundwater through direct discharge, seepage or runoff. 2. Substantially eliminate atmospheric emissions of ammonia. 3. Substantially eliminate the emission of odor that is detectable beyond the boundaries of the parcel or tract of land on which the swine farm is located. 4. Substantially eliminate the release of diseasetransmitting vectors and airborne pathogens. 5. Substantially eliminate nutrient and heavy metal contamination of soil and groundwater.

Conclusion • Pollution control for livestock operations: – Keep operations isolated from residential areas – control water and air pollution through waste management programs CAFOs are reducing water and air pollution and running their operations more efficiently with the right waste management methods.