Pollution from animal operations poses challenges to farmers and to resource managers because it can affect multiple resources. Animal agriculture produces a variety of pollutants. Because some of these pollutants are linked, regulations to restrict emissions from animal operations to water might inadvertently increase emissions to the air, and vice versa.
The most recent report from ERS on the potential pollution challenges from animal production examines the tradeoffs between alternative approaches to improving air and water quality. Managing Manure To Improve Air and Water Quality |
Previous Reports from ERS Have Addressed Different Aspects of the Pollution Potential from Animal Production:
In a 2003 report, Manure Management for Water Quality: Costs to Animal Feeding Operations of Applying Manure Nutrients to Land, the focus was on water quality. This report focused on land application of manure, the most common method of utilizing manure from animal operations. Clean Water Act regulations on the land application of manure by the largest animal feeding operations were found to increase the cost of managing manure. The major cost was for hauling and spreading manure on the additional land required to meet the needs of mandatory nutrient management plans. Manure management costs varied by animal type and region.
In a 2001 report, Confined Animal Production and Manure Nutrients, the focus was on the capacity of cropland and pastureland to assimilate manure nutrients. Structural changes in the livestock sector that concentrated animals on large farms, and also concentrated large farms geographically, raised concerns that manure nutrients were being overapplied to land. The largest animal feeding operations that accounted for more than 60 percent of manure nutrients were found to have inadequate land for spreading manure, leading to potential overapplication of nutrients and water quality degradation. Some regions of the country were identified where the entire cropland base was inadequate for assimilating manure nutrients.
For More ERS Information on This Topic See:
Below are other ERS resources related to this topic, including research reports, articles, data, and briefing rooms:
Research Reports
Articles
Data
- Confined Animal and Manure Nutrient Data System—This system provides State and national data about confined animal numbers and associated manure nutrients, accessible by year and animal type, with each file providing all available data for each State, or as customized reports by desired years, geographic areas, animal types, confinement status, and data items.
Briefing Rooms
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