CAFOs
Coalition urges Iowa legislators to end new factory farm development
A coalition of 55 environmental, agricultural, and food-safety organizations signed a letter urging the Iowa General Assembly pass a moratorium on new and expanded factory farm development in the state. Iowa currently houses nearly 23 million hogs, a record for the state and the highest number in the country.
Iowa residents petition for better manure regulation
Four Iowa residents have petitioned the state to better regulate airborne waste from hog farms. Currently, Iowa requires farmers to retain manure until it is applied as fertilizer. But the residents argue that farmers aren’t retaining all the manure — that some is being spread to nearby homes by blowers and air vents.
U.S. appeals court nixes Idaho ‘ag gag’ law against recording farm operations
In their rush to protect farmers from adverse publicity, Idaho legislators enacted an unconstitutional, “staggeringly overbroad” muzzle of free speech and investigative reporting, ruled U.S. appeals court judges in Seattle.
Expired permits on one-third of large livestock farms in Wisconsin
Around a third of large livestock farms in Wisconsin are operating with expired permits, says Wisconsin Public Radio. It's not uncommon or illegal "but it is a source of frustration for farmers and residents concerned about oversight."
Pork farmers urge veto override of bill limiting their liability
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has vetoed a bill that would limit the liability of large livestock farms when they are sued for creating a public nuisance due to odors or manure runoff. His veto may not be the end of the story because hog farmers are encouraging the legislature to override the veto.
Chicago Tribune is honored for reports on large-scale hog production
Two reporters and a photographer from the Chicago Tribune won the top writing award from the North American Agricultural Journalists for "The Price of Pork," a series of stories on large-scale hog production in Illinois. Written by Gary Marx and David Jackson, the stories "told the story of an exploding number and size of large hog confinements across rural Illinois, where state officials promoted an industry that poisoned streams, trampled the rights of farm families and brushed aside worker reports of animal abuse," said NAAJ.
Across U.S., lawmakers weigh bills that limit nuisance suits against CAFOs
In a handful of states, legislators are deciding this year whether to limit the rights of people who file lawsuits alleging that large livestock farms near their homes are public nuisances.
Hog farm bill affects ‘hundreds of thousands’ of North Carolinians
An environmental group estimates that 160,000 people would lose some of their property rights under legislation being considered in North Carolina to reduce the legal liability of large hog and poultry farms for noxious odors from animal wast
U.S. appeals court says factory farms must report air pollutants
The U.S. appeals court based in Washington voided a Bush-era exemption for large livestock farms from reporting emission of air pollutants in a win for environmentalists, said Law360. The lawsuit was filed more than a year ago by eight environmental groups, who said the EPA ignored petitions in 2009 and 2011 for regulation of ammonia, methane and other emissions from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
Pig CAFOs influence timing of human flu seasons, study shows
The enormous numbers of animals concentrated in industrial pig farms are changing the pattern of flu seasons, by providing flu viruses a place to jump between humans and animals and multiply faster than they otherwise would, according to new research from North Carolina — a state that is second only to Iowa in pig production.
Green groups call flooded North Carolina barns an ‘unnecessary risk’
Hurricane Matthew flooded 142 hog and poultry barns in eight counties in North Carolina, said two environmental groups, vivid proof of the "unnecessary risk" of building large livestock farms "in a low-lying area deluged annually by tropical storms."
How many CAFOs are in the U.S? It’s anyone’s guess.
Due to privacy laws that have stymied regulators, no one can say for sure how many CAFOs are in the U.S., much less how large the animal operations really are, says Inside Climate News. “Thousands of industrial farms across the country release contaminants into the nation's water and airways, but in many states like North Carolina, the public has limited access to information about them."
U.S. appeals court blocks disclosure of CAFO ownership
A U.S. court of appeals overturned a lower court ruling and blocked the disclosure of ownership information about concentrated animal feeding operations, Agri-Pulse reported. The appeals court determined that the EPA had violated the Freedom of Information Act by releasing personal information, including phone numbers and email addresses, of CAFOs.
In North Carolina, hog manure is a civil rights issue
A nonprofit law firm and the Center for Civil Rights is using federal civil rights laws in a challenge to the pork industry in North Carolina, says Civil Eats. "This crisis involves the lasting impact of pollution from large concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) housing pigs," writes Steve Holt.
New tactic to combat factory farming: a divestment campaign
"The issue is still low on the radar of most investors," says The Guardian in a story on an emerging campaign for divestment from factory farming.
Lawsuit seeks US air pollution limits on large livestock farms
Five environmental, animal welfare and community organizations filed suit in federal district court in Washington, DC, to force EPA to set air pollution standards for large livestock farms.
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.