Swamp Stomp
Volume 18 Issue 17
Pigs, hogs, or swine, no matter what you call them, for many states they are a major industry. North Carolina is one of the top swine-producing states in the country and this is clear if you have ever traveled to the Tar Heel state. Not only are barbecue restaurants plentiful, but in some places, most notably eastern North Carolina, pigs outnumber the number of humans living in the area. In Duplin County, pigs outnumber humans by a ratio of 39:1. In 2012, hog farming and pork-product, processing industries employed nearly 13,000 people in North Carolina and were (and still are) a major source of revenue with pork sales totaling $2.9 billion. However, while this is something for swine producers to be proud of, some residents of eastern North Carolina are less than pleased.
With nearly 8.9 million pigs living in North Carolina, how to handle their waste becomes an enormous issue. While this may seem like a rather uncomplicated issue, it is quite the opposite. Anyone involved in food animal production is well aware of the fact that nuisance complaints are not a minor consideration. Swine farms, as well as any other types of animal farms, are loud and foul-smelling. Smells due to the feces produced by the animals can result in highly volatile altercations with neighbors. Some neighbors of swine farms have experienced the problem of having feces sprayed into their yards. Besides the powerful stench that can deprive neighbors of their right to use and enjoy their own property, feces can find its way into waterways and contaminate the water. Another problem is the lagoons which hold the excess feces from the farms. Meant to contain the potentially harmful chemicals from swine excrement, these can also pose a major problem in the case of extreme flooding. Hurricane Floyd is one example of this where the environment took a hit from overflowing lagoons.
But there is more to the story. Swine producers are not “evil” and not trying to hurt the environment. Swine producers are residents of the state where they produce, and some have come up with some very inventive solutions to the waste problem. Tom Butler, a swine producer in Lillington, North Carolina, has slats on the floor of his barns where the feces fall through. It then travels to a manure digester where bacteria break down the feces. The methane gas produced in this process travels to a generator building where it is burned to create electricity. The left-over waste resides in lagoons that are covered with green plastic. Not only does the operation smell much better, but enough electricity is also produced to power 90 refrigerators.
A drawback to this solution is the price. It is a lot cheaper to just not install this type of waste management. There are other farms around the country that have similar digestors to manage their waste, but the price of such a digestor discourages many more farmers from adopting them. So, while there are solutions, it has yet to be seen if the solution can be reconciled as a cost of doing business and become more widespread. Until then, the local environment is still at risk.
Sources:
Peach, Sara. “What to Do About Pig Poop? North Carolina Fights a Rising Tide.” National Geographic. National Geographic. October 30, 2014. Web. April 6, 2018.
Food and Water Watch. (2010, August). Factory Farmed Hogs in North Carolina. January 17, 2014.
Growing the food that we all so easily have access and enjoy is not easy and it is not simple. Farmers, ranchers, and dairymen (and women) are innovative and care DEEPLY for the environment surrounding their land. So often we hear that confined animal feeding is the cause and is not needed. I beg to differ. Agriculturists can not produce the amount of food needed to feed the world’s population without efficient operations such as these that not only produce a large amount of food on a small geographical footprint, they do so in a humane manner that benefits the animals. Nor is the vegetarian or vegan route the answer as there is not enough land that can support growing crops for our world’s population. I even hear some say “well the world’s population is too high.” Okay, if that is so, who are they to say who gets to live and who gets to starve to death?
No, the solution is the innovation of the farmers, ranchers and dairymen (and women) as well as the research from our land-grant universities that can be cost-shared by society to create a sustainable food source while improving the environment. Pointing fingers is not the solution but working collaboratively will certainly get us there. This article highlights one of the ways that we can achieve this goal.