Concentrated animal feeding operations By: Kyle Frain cafo Concentrated animal feeding operations By: Kyle Frain

What is a cafo A CAFO is an industrial-sized livestock operation. A CAFO is an AFO with more than 1000 animal units (an animal unit is defined as an animal equivalent of 1000 pounds live weight and equates to 1000 head of beef cattle, 700 dairy cows, 2500 swine weighing more than 55 lbs, 125 thousand broiler chickens, or 82 thousand laying hens or pullets) confined on site for more than 45 days during the year CAFO animals are confined at least 45 days or more per year in an area without vegetation. CAFOs include open feedlots, as well as massive, windowless buildings where livestock are confined in boxes or stalls.

Different types of CAFO One type of CAFO houses livestock in buildings the animals seldom leave this CAFO have a hard time removing wastes from the houses. They use fresh water to clean off the animals and the waste, or the waste is swept up at certain times. Another type of CAFO is the feedlot , which keeps the animals outdoors in pens. This CAFO they let the waste accumulate on the ground often washing out into ditches and steams.

Why CAFOs are bad The waste one housing produces is more than 16,000 humans And inside that waste is antibiotic-resistant bacteria, hormones, chemicals used in livestock care, milkhouse wastes , cleaning agents, ammonia and heavy metals, silage leachate all of the waste gets washed out by water and flows into streams and ditches The bacteria causes algal blooms on the surface of the water which depletes oxygen, kills off natural algal blooms and kills off fish. Also water plants must clean the water of these bacteria's to be able to consume it.