Late Winter Morning

About 15 years ago I was standing on a friend's porch looking over the valley at our town. It was early morning and very quiet. The fog was clearing and we could see the homes and businesses starting to peek through the mist. All of a sudden it occurred to me that I could not hear a single cow. Since we lived in the farm country of rural central New York State this was indeed odd. I looked around and pointed out the different farmsteads that no longer had livestock.

In the mid 1970's when I moved to the area the small dairy farms were being replaced with larger dairies of 50 to 100 milk cows. Instead of stanchion or tie stall barns we were seeing the introduction of the free stall barn and milking parlor. These innovations allowed for more livestock to be cared for by fewer people. But these facilities often were less healthy for the animals even when operated judiciously by caring farmers. The design of the facility and the number of free roaming animals led to injuries. They were also less comfortable to work in, at least in the cold months in upstate NY, because they were wet and open without the collection of body heat from the cows. Generally these animals still had access to pasture ground even if only in the summer.

To go along with these operations were the installation of manure ponds. Namely large open ponds full of cow manure. Manure was scraped out of the free stall into a pond where it would accumulate until the farmer spread the manure on the land and plowed it under to fertilize the crops that would soon be planted. This allowed for two things, the use of less bedding under the cows reducing the volume of refuse, and timing manure spreading for the best use of its nutrients. It also helped paved the way for housing more livestock on a farm property than that property could sustain.

Now those 100 cow dairies have been replaced by farms with thousands of cows. The manure ponds have become open lagoons holding millions of gallons of cow manure. The cows spend their lives on concrete which is harmful to their legs and feet. 

What happened to the other farms? Their barns stand empty or have been torn down to reduce taxes and insurance premiums. Much land lays fallow. Much of it is producing feed for the few big farms and fields for the over spreading of manure from the factory farms. Thus neighbors become financially dependent on the CAFO that is poisoning their air and wells and ground water, and draining local aquifers and streams. 

For a very clear portrayal of this phenomena in an area that was ambushed by large hog facilities, go to WWW.aswesow.com

Oh Poop!

Let's say you live on a nice piece of property in a small community. Let's say I bought a piece of property next door to you. Let's say I built an apartment complex that housed 4000 people. Now let's say that to handle the sewage I built a large pond. Open to the air. Somewhat vulnerable to run off. 

Are you happy with me? Are you happy with the governmental bodies that say this is OK?

Now let's say that once or twice a year I spread this sewage so thickly on the fields around you that it looks like someone has troweled on black cement. 

Are you happy now? 

Local governments have done a lot in my area to correct inadequate sewer systems for homes. The new regulations concerning pumping tanks, and adequate leach fields help to control standing water and runoff issues and to protect our wells and waterways. Systems that were adequate when we bathed less often and used wringer washers that reused water for several loads, needed to be updated for our current habits of daily showers, dishwashers and changing clothes for every activity. 

Manure handling on livestock facilities have not changed much. Manure lagoons were a good idea, allowing for manure to be stored and then spread at optimal times for crop fertilization, with the idea of immediate plowing under to reduce loss of nitrogen to the air, and runoff. These systems were developed when the farms in my area had 50 to 100 head of milking cows. 

Are they sufficient for a facility that houses 100 times that many?

More later on how these facilities impact the financial lives of their neighbors.