IATP Hog Report - Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

Section 3
native organic matter pool of soils, while slurry (liquid manure) provides
only a small fraction of that. 90
When the carbon to nitrogen ratio in farmyard manure is 20 to one, the
soil microflora use all the available ammonium and nitrate present to
metabolize the carbon into biomass, preventing the buildup of nitrates in
the soil and reducing the chance of nitrate leaching. 91 Bedding is a
byproduct of small grain production, a valuable component of a healthy
crop rotation. The grain can be sold and/or fed to animals on the farm. On
traditional farms, manure management was not merely waste disposal but
was an integral aspect of the nutrient cycle and contributed to the overall
economy of the farming operation. On sustainable farms of the present,
this integral role for manure and manure management continues, aided by
the blending of animal and crop enterprises on the farm.
Increasingly sophisticated and costly techniques to "purify" liquid manure,
capture gasses and emissions, develop new uses for liquid manure and
new methods of stabilizing and disposing of it properly are therefore a
double-edged sword: they may help prevent some of the most catastrophic
problems caused by industrial hog farming, but they also will lead animal
agriculture farther down the path of industrialization.
The more capital intensive the waste management technology, the more
out of financial reach it is for independent family farmers, and the more
incentive there is for corporate hog factories to look to the public for
financing their adoption of it. Pasturing, rotational grazing, and deepbedded
barns with solid manure handling particularly when coupled with
management and husbandry that are compatible with animals' natural
behaviors are alternatives to factory hog production that are economical
for independent family farmers and communities. In the long run, they are
also more sustainable.
Some Strategies and Action Alternatives for Alleviating the
Water Quality Impacts of Animal Production
1. Educate the public with regard to the environmental dangers posed
by large-scale animal factories and citizens' rights and
opportunities for self-protection.
2. Impose a moratorium on new large animal factories until the
massive pollution from current factory farm facilities is eliminated.
3. Phase out open-air lagoons and require the adoption of
ecologically and socially responsible manure management
practices.
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