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Agricultural
pollution (such as sediment and nutrient runoff) is a prime contributor
to the nation’s water quality
problems. ERS routinely surveys producers’ choices of water,
nutrient, pest, and soil management practices to address such problems.
Especially important is work on the water quality effects of animal
waste from confined feeding operations that have grown larger and
more geographically concentrated in recent years.
EPA regulations enacted in February 2003 require concentrated
animal feeding operations (generally the largest producers of hogs,
chicken, dairy and beef cattle) to meet nutrient application standards
when spreading their manure on cropland in order to preserve water
resources from nitrogen and phosphorus runoff. USDA is encouraging
all animal feeding operations to do the same. If all operations
meet the new standards, increases in production costs could be
felt throughout the food and agricultural system.
| New
report from ERS |
Manure
Management for Water Quality AER-824
(6/03)
This report evaluates the costs of spreading manure on cropland
at the farm, regional, and national levels. |
Below
are other ERS resources related to this topic, including research
reports, articles, data,
and briefing rooms:
Research
Reports
- Economic
and Structural Relationships in U.S. Hog Production -
Rapid change in the size and ownership structure of U.S. hog
production
has created new and varied challenges for the industry,
and these changes have not come without problems. More AER-818
(2/03)
-
Vertical Coordination of Marketing Systems: Lessons From the Poultry,
Egg and Pork Industries—The poultry, egg, and pork
industries took significant steps to improve the control of
production through
contracting and vertical integration. More.
AER-807 (4/02)
- Confined
Animal Production and Manure Nutrients—Livestock
and poultry manure applied to farmland is a valuable source
of organic
nutrients, but manure nitrogen and phosphorus in excess of the
farm's crop requirements can compromise water quality. More
AIB-771 (6/01)
- AREI Chapter 2.2 - Water Quality Impacts of
Agriculture – Describes pollutants generated
by agriculture that may degrade the quality of the Nation’s
water resources. More
- AREI Chapter 5.7 – Federal Laws Protecting Environmental Quality –Federal environmental laws can influence farmers' decisions about production practices or input use. More
Articles
- Manure
Management:
A Growing Challenge in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed--Recent
ERS analysis indicates that better manure management will likely require manure
to be applied to more land than currently, raising hauling costs for many animal
producers. Amber Waves (6/03) More
- Managing
Manure: New Clean Water Act Regulations Create Imperative
for
Livestock Producers—Nutrients from livestock and poultry
manure are key sources of water pollution. New water quality
regulations
were put in place to deal with manure management on December
16, 2002. More.
Amber Waves (2/03)
- Proposed
Requirements for Manure Nutrient Management: Potential Sector
Impacts—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has
proposed bringing additional animal feeding operations (AFOs)
under regulation and requiring implementation of nutrient management
plans, with a decision expected by December 2002. More.
AO (4/02)
- Livestock
Operations Face Greater Restriction—Take
an AFO, concentrate it to make a CAFO, mix in
some NPDES
and TMDL,
and the result
is a brew that more livestock and poultry producers
may have to
imbibe in the near future. More.
AO (4/02)
- Confined
Animal Production Poses Manure Management Problems—Many
confined animal operations are unable to utilize all manure
nutrients
produced on the farm-i.e., apply the animal waste to crops
on land under their control. More.
AO (9/00)
- U.S.
Environmental Regulation & Location of Hog Production—Increasing
concentration of hog production and manure waste in certain
areas
of the U.S. has heightened interest in the potential links
between stringency of environmental regulation and location
of animal
production. More.
AO (9/00)
Data
- Confined
Animal and Manure Nutrient Data System—This system provides
state and National data about confined animal numbers and associated
manure nutrients, accessible by year and animal type with each
file providing all available data for each state, or as customized
reports by desired years, geographic areas, animal types, confinement
status, and data items. More
Briefing
Rooms
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