What Happened to the automated cattle feed-lot operation?
The automated cattle feed lot operation began to be phased out during the late 1940s, in large part due to complaints by the Los Angeles County Air Pollution Control District wanting to limit dust and air-borne particulate matter raised by the feed grinding and blending operations. Air quality concerns began to emerge circa 1943 for the Los Angeles basin, and so efforts were begun to eliminate all obvious industrial sources of air contamination, dust from the cattle operation being one of them. Then, beginning circa 1952, there was a great influx of new residents flooding into the area, and in 1957 the City of Santa Fe Springs was incorporated. Complaints regarding the dust and odor from the cattle operation increased dramatically and so the last vestiges of the Santa Fe Springs cattle operation were terminated.
