CAFOs
EPA would exempt CAFOs from right-to-know reporting of manure gases
The EPA has proposed a rule that would exempt industrial livestock farms from a requirement under a “community right-to-know law” that they notify state and local officials of gases produced by the manure on their farms. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Smithfield aims for manure digesters, not lagoons, in three states
In order to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, Smithfield Foods set a target on Thursday of equipping 90 percent of its hog-finishing facilities in three states with manure-to-energy digesters to capture biogas for eventual sale as renewable natural gas.
North Carolina ‘no place for CAFOs,’ says green group
Hurricane Florence is the latest illustration that "flood-prone coastal states like North Carolina are no place for CAFOs," said the Union of Concerned Scientists, calling for tighter regulation of industrial livestock farms. Gov. Roy Cooper and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue are scheduled to view agricultural damage today and may see some of the four dozen manure lagoons statewide that are flooded or overflowing because of storm water.
More manure lagoons in North Carolina damaged, flooded, or overflowing
Some 57 manure lagoons in North Carolina were flooded, overflowing, or structurally damaged by the heavy rains and floods caused by Hurricane Florence — an increase of 14 in a day, said the state Department of Environmental Quality on Thursday.
Florence swamps Matthew as North Carolina agriculture scourge
Twice as many livestock have died in North Carolina due to Hurricane Florence as perished in Hurricane Matthew two years ago, and more manure lagoons have been damaged or flooded, state agencies said on Wednesday.
Florence aftermath: Lower chicken production for a top processor
The third-largest U.S. poultry processor lost at least 8 percent of its chickens in North Carolina due to flooding from Hurricane Florence, and expects lower meat production through December as a result. Sanderson Farms was the first meat processor to announce livestock losses: 1.7 million chickens.
Farm leaders urge federal shield against lawsuits
Two national farm leaders called for federal protection from lawsuits that hold farmers liable for the noise and foul odors of increasingly large-scale agricultural production. "It is time for our elected leaders to step up and stop this madness," said Howard Hill, speaking for U.S. hog farmers and taking aim at lawsuits that allege North Carolina hog farms are nuisances to their neighbors. "The regulations need to be on the trial lawyers," said president Zippy Duvall of the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Jury awards hog-farm neighbors $473.5 million in nuisance lawsuit
A federal jury awarded six neighbors of industrial hog farms in North Carolina $473.5 million in damages on Friday. The lawsuit is the third so far on the waste-management practices of Smithfield-associated hog farms in the state. Earlier verdicts have awarded plaintiffs about $75 million.
How CAFOs divided an Arkansas community
As a young man, Johnny Carroll Sain dreamed of owning an industrial hog farm like his uncle. Eventually, he did, raising hogs for Cargill on 55 acres in northern Arkansas. He's out of the business now, and in FERN's latest piece, published with Arkansas Life, he explores how industrial meat production has damaged the environment, the economy, and the social cohesion in his rural community. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
North Carolina lawmakers override veto to pass Farm Act
On Wednesday, the North Carolina General Assembly overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto to pass into law the Farm Act, which expands the state’s right-to-farm law. The law now greatly restricts farm neighbors’ ability to bring nuisance lawsuits against farm operations for air, water, and soil pollution.
Advocates ask North Carolina governor to veto right-to-farm law
Several national and local advocacy groups are calling on North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper to veto a bill that would greatly restrict the public's ability to sue large-scale animal farms over negative health and environmental effects. The state general assembly passed the bill on Friday.
North Carolina legislators move to tighten right-to-farm law
In the wake of a jury verdict that awarded millions to the neighbors of industrial hog farms in Duplin County, North Carolina, the state’s Senate Agriculture Committee approved language that would make it more difficult to bring similar “nuisance” lawsuits in the future.
Environmental groups call for ban on new factory farms
Leaders from Food & Water Watch, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, and Des Moines Water Works gathered in Iowa Monday to call for a national ban on large-scale industrial, or “factory,” farms. In calling for the ban, the groups cited the negative impacts that confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) have had on farmers, animals, eaters, and the environment.
North Carolina nuisance verdict ‘a blatant assault on animal agriculture’
The $50-million judgment against a North Carolina hog farm as a nuisance to its neighbors “is a blatant assault on animal agriculture and rural America,” said the meat industry and three farm groups on Wednesday.
Smithfield verdict raises hopes for opponents of industrial ag
The $50-million verdict last week against North Carolina hog producer Murphy-Brown is being hailed as a potential game-changer in the growing grassroots opposition to industrial farming operations around the country. <strong>No paywall</strong>
As a dairy scandal settles, a fight in Oregon about the future of farming
A scandal involving Lost Valley, Oregon’s second-largest dairy, illuminates a broader debate in the state: whether or not it should welcome more industrial, large-scale farming operations, and particularly large-scale dairies. <strong>No paywall</strong>
Kansas Governor signs ‘Tyson bill’ into law aiding chicken producers
Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer last Tuesday signed into law a controversial bill that will amend the state’s regulatory requirements for poultry confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), local media reported. The bill was dubbed the “Tyson bill,” for its favorability to the large poultry processor who has attempted multiple times to set up a processing plant in the state.
Congress exempts large livestock farms from reporting air pollution
In a step that overrides an appellate court decision, Congress included a provision in the $1.3 trillion government funding bill that exempts an estimated 200,000 large livestock farms from reporting emissions coming from manure and other animal waste. Hog, cattle and poultry groups said the exemption means farms won't be treated like Superfund sites that create dangerous air pollution.
With new outbreaks, bird flu toll nears 59 million fowls
Ending a five-month hiatus, highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed in commercial flocks in two states — turkey farms in Utah and South Dakota — said the Agriculture Department. Some 58.97 million birds, mostly egg-laying chickens and turkeys being raised for human consumption, have died in bird flu outbreaks that began in February 2022.