Reasons for increased scrutiny of animal agriculture

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Reasons for increased scrutiny of animal
agriculture

• Increasing population that is more aware
• Increasing per capita consumption
• Processed foods
• Meat
• Larger facilities

2
Consequences

• More potential for environmental problems
• More waste in one place
• More opportunity for utilization and management
• Economies of scale
• Scale of operation

3
Environmental concerns

• Non-point source pollutants
• Definition
• Categories
• Sediment
• Nutrients
• Pesticides
• Salts
• Metals
• Bacteria
• Sulfates

Yellow denotes that agriculture is a source
Denotes that animal ag is a source
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Nutrients

• N
• P
• Organic Matter

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N and water quality

• Groundwater concern

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Ammonia
Ammonia
(Denitrification)
fertilizer
Assimilation
Ammonification
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N and water quality

• Methemoglobinemia Blue baby syndrome

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P and water quality

• Surface water concern
• Eutrophication of surface water
• Natural aging process nutrient enrichment high
  plant and algae growth organic matter
  accumulation

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Eutrophication

• Definition high productivity
• Symptoms
• Frequent algal blooms reduced variety of algae
  blue-green predominant species shift in fish
  populations (pelagic rather than benthic), anoxia
  or near anoxia
• Limiting nutrients N but usually P
• 0.3 3.0 mg/L total P

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Eutrophication

• Sources
• Rainfall (N and P)
• Runoff (N and P)
• Sewage and decomposition (N and P)
• Atmospheric fixation (N)
• Waterfowl (N and P)
• Groundwater (N)

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Eutrophication

• Consequences
• Algae decomposition products affect taste,
  odor, color
• Weeds clogging treatment filters
• Increased color and turbidity
• Anoxia release of H2S, redox sensitive minerals
• Aesthetics

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Organic matter concerns

• Primarily, surface water
• Fishkills
• DNR statistics
• Hypoxia
• stats
• Pfisteria
• Human effects

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157 water sources in Iowa were classified as
impaired
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Issues associated with grazing

• Sedimentation and turbidity
• Overgrazing of riparian vegetation
• Stream channelization
• Overgrazing of riparian vegetation
• Nutrient impairment and algae growth
• Pasture runoff
• Bacterial contamination
• Pasture runoff

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Annual Sediment, P, and N loading of Rock Creek
Lakefrom tributaries with different proportions
of pastureland (Downing et al., 2000)
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Air Quality Regulations and Activity

• 1997 Clean Air Act Amendments
• National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
• Primary pollutant standards
• Secondary pollutant standards

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NAAQS 6 criteria pollutants

• CO
• Pb
• SO2
• O3
• Particulate matter
• PM10
• also PM2.5
• NO2

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Particulate Matter

• Primary pollutant
• respiratory health
• livestock sources include feed dust, secondary
  formation (fugitive)
• Secondary pollutant
• visibility (haze)
• livestock sources include feedlot dust, road and
  tillage dust (fugitive)

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Fugitive dust

• EPA estimates that 50 of PM2.5 emissions arise
  from fugitive dust sources

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Ammonium Nitrate or Ammonium sulfate
Ammonia nitric acid or sulfuric acid
From fields, feedlots, manure storage, housing
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Sources of ammonia
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National Ambient Air Quality Standards (1997)

• Ozone
• new standard- 0.8 ppm avg over 8 hr vs. 0.12 ppm
  avg over 1 hr
• results primarily from nitrogen oxides and VOCs
• regulation of fuels and motor vehicles will have
  some impact on agriculture
• reducing concentrations should result in improved
  yield

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Other air quality areas

• Secondary pollutants
• Odor
• Greenhouse gases (CH4, CO2, N2O)
• Equivalency of different gases

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Greenhouse Gases
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Iowa Greenhouse Gas Action Plan

• Control emissions from animal agriculture
• Balance the production of GHG with carbon
  sequestration capacity

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Iowa Greenhouse Gas Action Plan

• 1 hog generates the same GHG equivalents as 2.5
  humans
• Must cover all CAFO manure storages
• Need to curtail N2O emissions from CAFOs
• New approaches to reducing methane

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Odor

• 200 compounds
• Interaction of compounds
• Health effects???

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Nuisance pollutants

• Noise
• Flies

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Safety

• Depletion of oxygen
• Poisonous gases
• Explosions

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Other issues

• Disease transmission
• Insects and rodents
• Visual aesthetics

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Air Quality Concerns

• From the neighbors perspective, shift more
  towards human health concerns rather than nuisance

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Iowa Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Air
Quality Study

• Released February 8, 2002
• Responded to 5 questions from the IDNR regarding
  human health impacts from AFOs
• Recommended exposure levels for emissions of
  concern

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RecommendationsH2S

• H2S - not exceed 70 parts per billion (ppb) for a
  1-hour time-weighted average (TWA) period,
  measured at the CAFO property line.
• The concentration at a residence or public use
  area shall not exceed 15 ppb.
• Each CAFO should be provided up to seven days
  each calendar year when they are allowed to
  exceed the concentration for hydrogen sulfide

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RecommendationsNH3

• NH3 - not to exceed 500 ppb for a 1-hour TWA
  period, measured at the CAFO property line
• The concentration at a residence or public use
  area shall not exceed 150 ppb
• Each CAFO should have up to seven days each
  calendar year when they are allowed to exceed the
  concentration for ammonia.

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RecommendationsOdor

• No consensus reached on odor. Therefore two
  opinions provided.
• 71 dilutions at the residence 151 at the
  property line
• No data to support recommendations of odor
  concentration in relation to human health

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Iowa SF2293

• Rules completed by the end of August 2002
• Anticipated regulations for NH3 and H2S will be
  developed
• Unique health-based therefore, measures will be
  at the residence
• IDNR to conduct an 18-month monitoring study
  (regulation)

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Current status of SF2293

• Maximum 1-hr average H2S concentration not to
  exceed 15 ppb at the separated distance
• Maximum 1-hr average NH3 concentration not to
  exceed 150 ppb at the separated distance
• No odor standard

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Odor Regulations

• Missouri
• Requires development of odor control plans
• 5.41 odor threshold limit at the property line
• Enforcement is currently on hold
• Minnesota
• H2S, as an odor indicator
• 30 ppb, 30-min average, twice in five d
• 50 ppb, 30-min average, twice annually
• Currently considering a health-based, residence
  standard

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Odor Regulations

• Colorado
• 151 dilution threshold standard for non-swine
  uses
• Housed commercial swine feeding operations
• 71 at the property line
• 21 at the residence

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Additional Activity

• California
• In response to non-attainment of PM10 and ozone
  standards
• VOC and PM10 emission reductions of 30 and 47,
  respectively, by 2006
• 50 NH3 emission reduction from dairy by 2006
• Idaho
• Very early stages of implementing VOC standards
  for CAFOs that are health-based

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Emerging Environmental Issues

• Bioaerosols
• Endotoxin
• Pathogens
• Antibiotic resistance
• Endocrine disruptors
• Mortality management
• http//www.state.ia.us/government/dnr/organiza/epd
  /wastewtr/feedlot/faq.htm

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Emerging issues are not nutrient issues

• May require a non-traditional solutions
• Will need non-traditional expertise to address

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Antibiotic resistance

• Zahn et al., 2001 (JAS 79(Suppl 1)783)
• Aerial transfer of tylosin and TRB from swine
  finishers
• 3 mechanically-ventilated facilities
• 20 gton-1
• 8.1 5.3 ngL-1 tylosin exhausted
• TRB represented 80 of culturable bacteria
• Under year-round average ventilation rates,
  exhausted tylosin concentration represents 30 of
  tylosin fed
• Better methods of administration of
  sub-therapeutic concentrations????

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Estrogens in the Environment

• 17B-estradiol and xenoestrogens are the most
  offending
• Finlay-Moore et al., 2000. JEQ 29(5)1604
• No grazing effects on estradiol or testosterone
  concentration in runoff
• Amendment with broiler litter increased runoff
  concentrations of estradiol and testosterone
  15-fold
• Reproductive management solutions????