Environmental Management of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) - Chapter 10

10 Swine Feeding Operations This.is.your.panhandle.hog.farm.cough..I.been.workin.over.at.Murphy.Farms.haulin.waste.. It’s.occupational..But.I.got.laid.off.last.week.so.it’s.getting.better..A.bad.cough.goes.with.a. corporate.hog.farm. (Proulx, 2002, p. 112) 0. inTroduCTion Currently,.two.prevailing.views.on.swine.feeding.operations.are.popular.in.the.United.States.. According.to.the.U.S..Environmental.Protection.Agency.(2005),.the.swine.industry.faces.grow-ing.scrutiny.of.its.environmental.stewardship..The.potential.impact.of.an.individual.operation.on. the.environment.varies.with.animal.concentration,.weather,.terrain,.soils,.production.and.waste. management.strategies,.and.numerous.other.conditions..On.the.other.hand,.according.to.the.U.S.. National.Pork.Producers.Council.(2005),.“Concentrated.pork.production.operations.are.subject.to. comprehensive.regulations.at.the.federal,.state,.and.local.level..Pork.producers.have.taken.the.lead. in.working.with.the.USEPA,.state.regulators,.and.environmental.organizations.in.developing.addi-tional,.science-based.options.for.regulatory.programs”.(p..1). • Important point:.A.typical.finishing.pig.produces.an.average.of.1.2.gal.of.manure.each.day,. a.total.of.438.gal.of.manure.each.year,.at.an.average.rate.of.0.05.lb.of.nitrogen..In.total,. pork.production.accounts.for.12%.to.15%.of.all.livestock.manure.in.the.United.States. The.U.S..swine.industry.has.undergone.major.consolidation.over.the.past.several.decades..The. number.of.hog.operations,.which.approached.3.million.in.the.1950s,.had.declined.to.about.110,000. by.1997.(USDA,.1999a)..The.rate.of.consolidation.has.increased.dramatically.in.the.last.decade,. during.which.the.number.of.swine.operations.decreased.by.more.than.50%.(USDA,.1999b)..This. trend.toward.consolidation.appears.to.be.continuing.today. • Important point:.The.total.of.amount.of.collectible.manure.from.swine.confinement.opera-tions.is.about.100.lb.for.every.person.in.the.United.States. While.the.number.of.operations.has.decreased,.annual.hog.production.has.risen..The.domestic. hog.industry.is.increasingly.dominated.by.large.totally.enclosed.confinement.operations.capable.of. handling.5,000.hogs.or.more.at.a.time.(USDA,.1999a)..These.operations.typically.produce.no.other. livestock.or.crop.commodities. • Important point:.For.every.pound.of.nitrogen.in.swine.manure.produced.in.the.United. States.and.used.as.crop.fertilizer,.2.lb.of.nitrogen.is.piped.directly.into.rivers.and.streams. by.municipal.and.industrial.wastewater.treatment.facilities,.and.4.lb.are.released.into.the. atmosphere,.primarily.from.industrial.fuel.combustion.and.transportation. Another.trend.in.the.industry.is.an.increasing.degree.of.vertical.integration.that.has.accom-panied.consolidation..Hogs.are.raised.by.independent.producers.under.contract.with.integrators. who.slaughter.and.market.the.hogs.produced..The.integrator.provides.the.animals,.feed,.required. © 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Environmental Management of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) vaccines.and.other.drugs,.and.management.guidance..The.grower.provides.the.labor.and.facilities,. and.is.responsible.for.manure.and.carcass.disposal..In.return,.each.grower.receives.a.fixed.payment,. adjusted.for.production.efficiency. These.changes.at.both.the.industry.and.farm.levels.represent.a.significant.departure.from.earlier. eras,.when.hogs.were.produced.primarily.on.relatively.small.but.integrated.farms.where.crop.pro-duction.and.other.livestock.production.activities.occurred.and.where.animals.spent.their.complete. life.cycle.at.one.location. • Important point:.Manure.from.pigs.in.a.concentrated.feeding.operation.must.be.totally. contained.at.the.site.and.then.land-applied.to.crops.in.a.way.that.does.not.enter.surface. water.or.groundwater..A.municipal.wastewater.lagoon.treats.human.sewage,.but.does.not. remove.all.nutrients.or.other.contaminants,.and.then.legally.discharges.it.into.a.nearby. stream.or.other.surface.water..Changes.in.wastewater.treatment.facilities.in.recent.years. have.changed.the.form.of.nitrogen.in.sewage.effluent.from.ammonia.to.nitrate;.this.does. not.change.the.total.amount.of.nitrogen.in.the.effluent.and.may.not.resolve.the.problem.of. eutrophication. 0. siZe and loCaTion of sWine indusTry In.1997,.109,754.swine.operations.were.functioning.in.the.United.States..These.operations.produced. 142.6.million.pigs.(USDA,.1999b)..Farms.vary.in.size.from.operations.with.a.few.hundred.pigs.to. some.newer.operations.that.house.hundreds.of.thousands.of.animals.at.one.time..Table.10.1.shows. the.distribution.of.farms.by.size.(based.on.1997.inventory).and.state..Table.10.2.shows.the.1997. animal.population.by.farm.size..These.data.show.the.increasing.dominance.by.large.operations..In. TaBle 0. number of swine operations by size in 99 state Alabama. Alaska. Arizona. Arkansas. California. Colorado. Connecticut. Delaware. Florida. Georgia. Hawaii. Idaho. Illinois. Indiana. Iowa. Kansas. Kentucky. Louisiana. Maine. Maryland. < ,000 head 909. 53. 201. 1,115. 1,579. 1,202. 210. 127. 1,429. 1,706. 247. 711. 6,673. 6,003. 15,711. 2,719. 1,826. 631. 341. 574. inentory ,000–,999 head 15. 0. 4. 89. .4. 9. 0. 4. 2. 39. 1. 3. 381. 326. 1,224. 76. .38. 1. 0. 10. >,000 head 8 0 1 43 10 14 0 1 0 19 0 0 114 113 308 36 17 1 0 0 © 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Swine Feeding Operations TaBle 0. (continued) number of swine operations by size in 99 state Massachusetts. Michigan. Minnesota. Mississippi. Missouri. Montana. Nebraska. Nevada. New.Hampshire. New.Jersey. New.Mexico. New.York. North.Carolina. North.Dakota. Ohio. Oklahoma. Oregon. Pennsylvania. Rhode.Island. South.Carolina. South.Dakota. Tennessee. Texas. Utah. Vermont. Virginia. Washington. West.Virginia. Wisconsin. Wyoming. < ,000 head 382. 2,729. 6,873. 627. 5,192. 597. 5,753. 112. 249. 428. 346. 1,498. 1,756. 782. 5,801. 2,936. 1,382. 3,305. 60. 1,184. 2,775. 2,019. 5,410. 499. 238. 1,140. 974. 645. 3,629. 292. inentory ,000–,999 head 1. 91. 463. 23. 165. 23. 189. 0. 0. 2. 0. 9. 648. 10. 125. 36. 1. 115. 0. 27. 68. 18. 5. 3. 0. 20. 4. 0. 51. 0. >,000 head 0 33 176 12 62 7 75 1 .0 1 0 1 582 5 26 30 0 36 0 15 56 6 13 9 .0 10 0 0 6 4 United States 103,580 4,323 1,851 109,754 Source:. USDA.(1999a). TaBle 0. u.s. swine operations and inentory by farm size in 99 farm size* <.1,999.head. 2,000–4,999.head >.5,000.head. Percent of operations 94.4. . 3.9. . 1.7. Percent of national inentory 39.3 20.8 40.2 Source:. USEPA.(2001). *. Based.on.inventory. © 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Environmental Management of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) 1997,.94%.of.the.farms.had.a.capacity.of.2,000.pigs.or.less..These.smaller.operations.confined.40%. of.the.total.inventory.of.pigs..In.contrast,.larger.operations,.which.represent.6%.of.the.number.of. farms,.confined.60%.of.the.inventory..The.largest.2%.of.farms.(>.5000.head).confined.40%.of.the. inventory.(USEPA,.2001)..Table.10.3.shows.the.total.inventory.by.state.of.breeding.sows.and.hogs. raised.for.market. Swine.production.historically.has.been.centered.in.the.Midwest,.with.Iowa.being.the.largest. hog.producing.state.in.the.country..Although.the.Midwest.continues.to.be.the.nation’s.leading.hog. producer.(five.of.the.top.seven.producing.states.are.still.in.the.Midwest),.significant.growth.has. taken.place.in.other.areas..Perhaps.the.most.dramatic.growth.has.occurred.in.the.Mid-Atlantic. region,.specifically.in.North.Carolina..From.1987.to.1997,.North.Carolina.advanced.from.being.the. 12th.largest.pork.producer.in.the.nation.to.second,.behind.only.Iowa..The.idea.of.locating.produc-tion.phases.of.different.sites.was.developed.in.North.Carolina..The.state.also.has.a.much.higher. per-farm-average.inventory.than.any.of.the.states.in.the.Midwest..Whereas.Iowa.had.an.average.of. fewer.than.850.head.per.farm,.North.Carolina.had.an.average.of.more.than.3,200.head.per.farm.in. 1997.(USEPA,.2001). • Important point:.All.swine.manure,.solid.and.liquid,.applied.at.agronomic.rates.would. supply.about.one-eighth.of.the.nitrogen.needs.of.the.nation’s.corn.crop. Growth.has.occurred.elsewhere.as.well..Significant.growth.has.occurred.in.recent.years.in.the. panhandle.area.of.Texas,.Oklahoma,.Colorado,.Utah,.and.Wyoming..Some.of.the.very.large.new. operations.have.been.constructed.in.these.states. TaBle 0. swine inentory by state in 99 inentory (,000 head) state Alabama. Alaska. Arizona. Arkansas. California. Colorado. Connecticut. Delaware. Florida. Georgia. Hawaii. Idaho. Illinois. Indiana. Iowa. Kansas. Kentucky. Louisiana. Maine. Maryland. Massachusetts. Breeding market 20. 170 1. 2 15. 130 113. 768 27. 183 160. 630 1. 4 4. 26 10. 45 70. 496 5. 24 4. 26 545. 3,993 448. 3,265 1,295. 11,980 196. 1,296 71. 499 5. 27 1. 5 11. 74 3. 16 © 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Swine Feeding Operations TaBle 0. (continued) swine inentory by state in 99 inentory (,000 head) state Michigan. Minnesota. Mississippi. Missouri. Montana. Nebraska. Nevada. New.Hampshire. New.Jersey. New.Mexico. New.York. North.Carolina. North.Dakota. Ohio. Oklahoma. Oregon. Pennsylvania. Rhode.Island. South.Carolina. South.Dakota. Tennessee. Texas. Utah. Vermont. Virginia. Washington. West.Virginia. Wisconsin. Wyoming. United States Breeding market 130. 895 625. 4,800 28. 192 445. 3,016 20. 160 440. 3,085 1. 7 1. 4 3. 20 1. 5 11. 68 1,000. 8,675 24. 176 203. 1,335 211. 1,319 5. 30 119. 941 1. 2 35. 270 161. 1,069 45. 295 75. 505 55. 240 1. 2 43. 357 6. 33 3. 13 126. 639 19. 76 6,810 51,697 Source:. USDA.(1999b). 0. sWine ProduCTion CyCles The.production.cycle.for.hogs.has.three.phases:.farrowing,.nursing,.and.finishing..Some.farms. specialize.in.a.single.phase.of.the.growth.cycle,.whereas.other.farms.may.handle.two.or.all.three. phases. The.first.phase.begins.with.breeding.and.gestation.over.a.114-day.period,.followed.by.farrowing. (giving.birth)..After.farrowing,.the.newly.born.pigs.or.piglets.normally.are.nursed.for.a.period.of. 3.to.4.weeks.until.they.reach.a.weight.of.10.to.15.lb..Typically,.litters.range.from.9.to.11.pigs.per. litter,.with.a.practical.range.of.6.to.13..The.average.number.of.pigs.weaned.per.litter.in.1997.was. 8.7..Sows.can.be.bred.again.within.a.week.after.a.litter.is.weaned..Sows.normally.produce.five.to. six.litters.before.they.are.sold.for.slaughter,.at.a.weight.of.400.to.460.lb..After.weaning,.pigs.are. relocated.to.a.nursery. © 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ... - tailieumienphi.vn