Friday, October 21, 2005
Report Says Farmed Animal Waste Emits up to 70% of All Ammonia in US
A new report from the US Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) describes how the country’s disconnected environmental policies may in fact encourage pollution. The report tells us that, “Regulations to restrict animal farm emissions to the water might inadvertently increase emissions to the air, and vice versa.” Laws such as the Clean Water Act may thus encourage farmers to take measures that increase air pollution. In response, ERS officials recommend that farms take an integrated approach to environmental protection. The ERS report provides a simulation showing both economic and environmental benefits from simultaneously taking into account all current and upcoming regulations, including those that cover both air and water pollution.
According to the report, “animal agriculture produces a variety of pollutants, including organic matter, urea, ammonia, nitrous oxide, phosphorus, methane, carbon dioxide, pathogens, antibiotics, and hormones.” In particular, animal farming is responsible for up to 70% of all US ammonia emissions. Concentrated Animal Feed Operations (CAFOs) represent the largest farms measured by number of animals and broken up into small, medium, and large CAFOs (see below for a full definition of CAFOs). These farms account for a disproportionate amount of pollutants generated by large volumes of animal waste. Despite representing less than 5% of all farming operations in the US, CAFOs produce nearly half (47%) of the country’s animal waste.
The total amount of waste produced by farmed animals is approximately 500 million tons, (presumably per year, but no timeframe is indicated in the report). CAFOs alone account for about 235 million tons of animal waste.
“Managing Manure to Improve Air and Water Quality,” USDA / ERS, Sept-2005
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/ERR9