2008 Woodie Awards
Our View
Issue date: 9/4/08 Section: Opinions
Anytime someone mentions factory farms or concentrated animal feeding operations, all sorts of warning bells go off in our idealistic college student minds: They're bad for the environment! They're bad for the animals! They'll put the family farm out of business! They stink (literally)!
So when we learned about the factory farm coming to Kirksville (see story, page 2), our knee-jerk reaction was to write a scathing editorial opposing it. We're sure that many students and Kirksville residents will feel the same way. But the fact of the matter is that farming in America is changing, and it might not be as bad as you think.
Environmentalists protest CAFOs on the basis of the massive amount of waste they produce, and according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Web site, factory farms produced more than 250 million tons of manure in 2003.
But the people who run these operations aren't Homer Simpson-like cretins who collect pig feces in giant metal silos and dump them in the nearest lake. The waste is stored for use as fertilizer at carefully monitored levels so that it won't contaminate the groundwater. The Kirksville factory farm will meet all of Adair County's strict health ordinances.
If you're concerned about all that manure producing, well, a distinctive aroma, you're right. However, County Commissioner Gene Schneider visited a factory farm in Knox County similar to the proposed Kirksville facility and stated that the smell isn't detectable until you're 50 feet away from the farm. In other words, unless you're planning a picnic at the local CAFO, it shouldn't be an issue.
The notion that large-scale feeding operations are putting small farms out of business isn't quite accurate, either. CAFOs aren't replacing family farms, they're becoming family farms. Most other industries became mechanized long ago, and farming finally is catching up to the curve. Farmers realize that factory farms are cheaper and more efficient than traditional methods. CAFOs just make good business sense.
So when we learned about the factory farm coming to Kirksville (see story, page 2), our knee-jerk reaction was to write a scathing editorial opposing it. We're sure that many students and Kirksville residents will feel the same way. But the fact of the matter is that farming in America is changing, and it might not be as bad as you think.
Environmentalists protest CAFOs on the basis of the massive amount of waste they produce, and according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Web site, factory farms produced more than 250 million tons of manure in 2003.
But the people who run these operations aren't Homer Simpson-like cretins who collect pig feces in giant metal silos and dump them in the nearest lake. The waste is stored for use as fertilizer at carefully monitored levels so that it won't contaminate the groundwater. The Kirksville factory farm will meet all of Adair County's strict health ordinances.
If you're concerned about all that manure producing, well, a distinctive aroma, you're right. However, County Commissioner Gene Schneider visited a factory farm in Knox County similar to the proposed Kirksville facility and stated that the smell isn't detectable until you're 50 feet away from the farm. In other words, unless you're planning a picnic at the local CAFO, it shouldn't be an issue.
The notion that large-scale feeding operations are putting small farms out of business isn't quite accurate, either. CAFOs aren't replacing family farms, they're becoming family farms. Most other industries became mechanized long ago, and farming finally is catching up to the curve. Farmers realize that factory farms are cheaper and more efficient than traditional methods. CAFOs just make good business sense.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Leann Botkin
posted 9/05/08 @ 3:38 PM CST
Thank you for this refreshing take on CAFO's. It's very seldom that this side of the CAFO issue is presented.
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