Summary: Livestock and poultry production is an important part of the nation's economy, generating nearly $100 billion in farm revenue each year. But concern has increased about the pollution resulting from intensive livestock and poultry production, in which huge numbers of animals are raised in confined facilities. Nationwide, about 130 times more animal waste is produced than human waste--roughly five tons for every U.S. citizen--and some operations with hundreds of thousands of animals churn out as much waste as a city. Waste spills, leakage from waste storage facilities, and runoff from fields where waste has been applied as fertilizer threaten surface water and groundwater quality. Moreover, as animal production is increasingly concentrated in larger operations in some parts of the country, new waste management practices may be needed, including alternative uses for waste, new ways to treat waste, and better methods for moving waste to croplands for use as fertilizer. This report provides information on (1) waste management practices used in the United States; (2) practices used abroad; (3) potential new practices using technologies borrowed from other industries; (4) federal financial and technical assistance available to producers for waste management and the processes for obtaining this assistance; and (5) the role of federal agencies in conducting and supporting research to develop new waste management practices, including innovative uses of existing practices.
