h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Operations combining CAFOs and open pasturage are the norm in American agriculture & animal husbandry. One gets the best optimum of cattle health and productivity that way.

The free range system is actually worse than a CAFO unless one has an enormous amount of range and unlimited water.

Alternatives to CAFOs include seasonal trucking of animals to fallow range/farm land, which improves cattle health and soil fertility, still requires feed supplements, but is impractical for dairy operations.

Strange how very different views are expressed by people in America who live in close proximity to such businesses. I don't feel that a combination of the two would work in the UK anyway.

I am afraid we will have to agree to differ on this subject.

Websailor

Its one of those things, coming in a package with urban crowding, which usually crowds human populations far beyond what would be best for behavioral health.

The problem is making the best use of resources that one can with as little harm as possible.

You raise an interesting point ITIWBS. Overcrowding tends to have a severe impact on people's quality of life, and the same can be said for CAFO on livestock.

Simply because animals are raised for meat does not mean people are always willing to overlook their quality of life.

In both cases of animals and humans there is a choice of either just shrugging ones shoulders and leaving it at that, or deciding its just not good enough and being prepared to stand up and be counted.

UPDATE For those concerned about this issue you can sign this petition


http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/factoryfarm?source=facebookJUN&subsource=DAIRYpolgreenAW


Websailor

Signed the petition and retweeted it so hopefully more people will here about it.

*That was meant to be 'hear about it'

Thanks Atticus. The more the merrier because I think it has escaped the notice of a lot of people.

Websailor

Just to be sure we're on the same sheet of music, photos show what I'm calling a CAFO.

http://picasaweb.google.com/itiwbs/CAFO#5496684083741617746

This particular operation is dairy oriented, has no open pasturage attached, and is a model for how I believe operations of the character should be conducted.

The cattle, though they've plenty of room to move about as a matter of fact rarely stray more than 30feet from the shade attached to their feeding area except at milking time, when they queue up to be milked unprompted.

The area in your link seems devoid of vegetation but at least the cattle are in the open air, whereas I believe here they will be in enclosed sheds on a concrete floor, producing millions of gallons of waste contaminated with antibiotics and many other chemicals. I also suspect that the concentration of animals in one shed would be higher. We just don't have the space here. The planned slurry pools are way bigger than some in the US.

Cows are animals not machines and in my view this amounts to abuse. Incidentally I am not an animal rights fanatic, but I do believe in decent animal welfare, even more so if we are to be the beneficiaries!

Even the pictures in your link show a very artificial confined way of producing milk and I certainly would not want to drink it and I know others feel the same. There is so much anecdotal evidence on the Internet from people personally adversely affected that we really cannot ignore it.

Websailor

Incidentally, why would they stray from the shade in to a hostile barren landscape like that?

Websailor

Point of the remark is that given that their food and water are being brought to them and they have comfortable conditions, cattle don't stray or move about as much as they would in a free range environment. Its natural for them to cluster together that way and in the photos I provided they are using less than half of the space available in their feeding area.

Hazards of the free range they're not being exposed to include gopher holes and other animal borrows they might break a leg in, intestinal parasites, toxic vegetation, snakebite.

On the cow in the photo attached to your petition, I'd guess that one is suffering from a food poisoning problem on account of the condition of its coat and examine its food supply to be sure that the feed in dry storage is not spoiled and is not being exposed to moisture. Health and comfort of the animals are important issues.

I'd also want to be sure that the animals are not being exposed to water hosing in the process of cleaning their stalls and feeding areas and that they have dry and low humidity conditions and good ventilation. If they're exposed to hosing they end up getting splashed with floor debris and haven't means of cleaning themselves. If they need to be washed, they need a specialized 'cow wash' they file through on their way to a drying area before return to their stalls.

A special hazard of manure handling, cow manure in the process of decomposition generates temperatures as high as 170 F, along with copious CO2 and methane so if the process is taking place in a confined area in close proximity to the cattle, dangerously high temperatures in utterly suffocating conditions can be generated. Some people in cold climates deliberately exploit the effect to provide cold weather heating. A possibility for an enclosed CAFO is composting in a methane generator as a preliminary to harvesting the manure for the garden trade. This may significantly defray operating costs.

That's most interesting ITIWBS. You seem to know a lot about it.

I have a suspicion that hosing down would be used, as indeed it is now in many farms, but one of the reasons I object so strongly to this is the calibre of person who might be running these operations. The person's past record is not good in animal husbandry and other things.

I shall keep an eye open to see if the plans go ahead. I know the local community is up in arms but as is so often the case, their concerns might not be taken in to consideration.

Websailor

A little more cow philosophy:

When one sees them clustered, with considerable room unused, that means from the cow's point view, they're not overcrowded. If one were to forcibly separate them, keeping them two or three stalls apart, they'd find that distressing, vocalizing more, milk production falling off and cattle losing weight. They're herd animals and it's emotionally very important to them to be able to group closely enough together to allow a little body contact.

On spoiled feedstuffs, it usually begins with a small amount of feed matted into a corner somewhere. Rounded feed storage containers and feeding troughs work better than angular ones since there aren't any corners for the feed to lodge in. Angular feeding troughs should be avoided. Feeding troughs should drain easily and be dry before feed is introduced into them.

Food poisoning can be due either to live microorganisms in their feed, or toxins produced by them. Antibiotics may help in the first instance, but are useless in the second. In that case, the only answer is careful attention to be sure the cattle are not getting spoiled feed.

Manure philosphy:

Cattle can not be toilet trained and will simply go wherever they are whenever they feel like it. Excepting milking areas, where its mandatory, ordinarily hosing is more likely to cause problems than solve them. Getting manure wet accelerates formation of ammonia. Regularly scraping their feeding area with a scraping machine and removing the manure to a composting area and perhaps scattering a little granulated kaolin after scraping, if the area has a concrete floor, works better.

The manure is not a serious biological hazard in and of itself, but if there are large accumulations of green manure, the green manure will evolve ammonia which can burn them on their hooves and ankles, opening the way for secondary infection, an important reason for regularly clearing it away, since injuries of the character besides making life miserable for the animal will also impair productivity.

Back when I have time.

Websailor

http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/factoryfarm

worth a read, even if not in time to sign

Signed petition

Since i live on an organic farm; powered by Solar & wind energy and am vegetarian; i am probably seen as impossibly green hippie!

...Not that this bothers me much; interesting to hear other folks views.

zdt

Thanks all. Nice to see you zdt More power to your elbow my friend.

Websailor