CAFO - you decide

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation

Cow Country: The Rise of the CAFO in Idaho

by Scott Weaver

As mega-dairies and feedlots make up more of Idaho's dairy industry, the conflicts between people and cattle are increasing.
http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/cow-country-the-rise-of-the-cafo-in-idaho/Content?oid=1755457

A worse case scenario or expected reality for residents from the planned industrial-type dairy of Nocton Dairies Ltd?

Extracts

"Over the last two decades, the vision of a dairy has morphed from an idyllic setting to an industrialized, Henry Ford-like factory--the concentrated animal feeding operation".

"CAFOs' environmental impacts are evident. Putting 1,000-plus cows in a confined space produces an enormous amount of animal waste that often contains high levels of nitrates, pesticides and pharmaceuticals. If not properly handled, it can leach into surface and ground water. According to a 2006 paper in Environmental Health Perspectives, this happens all too often:
Based on available data, generally accepted livestock waste management practices do not adequately or effectively protect water resources from contamination with excessive nutrients, microbial pathogens and pharmaceuticals present in waste."

"CAFOs also degrade air quality. A 2003 DEQ report on the Treasure Valley found that 64 percent of ammonia emissions came from livestock waste, the largest source."

"His family has felt the impact of living close to so many CAFOs more personally and profoundly. But moving away from a CAFO is a complicated and money-losing proposition. CAFOs and their smell, dust, noise and flies are hell on property values. Moving often means taking a huge financial hit, one many can't afford."

And before the arguments start to emerge that Nocton Dairies are not building a CAFO, let's 'nip that in the bud' now:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAFO and
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-cafo.htm and
http://www.epa.gov/region7/water/cafo/index.htm

An informative article here also:

The Issues of Factory Farming

http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/factoryfarming/

Finally, so why do we look to the United States for our background research... well this country adopted this type of industrialised dairy unit many years ago and have been operating them ever since. Much of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency legislation has been adapted to cope with the negative effects of these operations... and in the UK our own Environmental Agency legislation has been pretty much untested on this size of development. It would be foolish if we were to ignore the evidence that has surfaced from the States, yet we have to acknowledge whilst there are badly run intensive dairies, there will also be well run ones too... but do the advantages outweight the disadvantages?

You decide.