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Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Environment - "Megafarms" appear to be a growing issue in Michigan
Christine Ferretti of the Detroit News reports today in a lengthy story:
The largest confined dairy operation in the state has about 6,000 cows, while the average non-confined large farm has closer to 500. In 2005, about 311,000 milk cows were on Michigan's 2,800 dairy farms, 95 of which had 500 or more cows, agricultural statistics show.A non-issue in Michigan before the 1990s, megafarms account for less than 1 percent of the state's 53,000 farms. But in less than a decade, the nearly 250 facilities -- mainly in the Thumb and near the Ohio border -- have become a growing source of contention among state lawmakers, a nuisance to neighbors and a concern to environmentalists.
The woes prompted a group of state senators last month to introduce a five-bill package seeking more state control over so-called animal factories. Current requirements, lawmakers say, aren't strict enough.
The legislation would require the state departments of agriculture and environmental quality to promote alternative means of manure disposal, require air emission plans and allow civil lawsuits to be filed against the facilities, said Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor, a co-sponsor of the bill.
"We've been trying to make it easier for family farms to survive and prosper, but now we're talking about factories," he said. "The animals don't move or graze … it is almost inhumane."
Neighbors claim extra precautions are necessary to prevent watershed pollution, but operators say they jump through enough hoops to protect the environment and are trying to survive in the industry.
A new condition imposed by the DEQ requiring the farms to apply for wastewater discharge permits also makes things tough, operators say.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 31, 2007 08:22 AM
Posted to Environment