What natural resource problems are associated with manure management?
Most confined livestock are fed a ration primarily produced offsite. In other words, the feed is brought to the confined animal enterprise, the animal product–whether meat, milk, or eggs–is removed, and the manure remains. The impact of this dislocation of manure from the production area of foodstuffs increases as animal enterprises are concentrated. Land for manure application at agronomic rates is often not available without prohibitive transportation costs, and the tendency to dispose of the manure (as opposed to using its nutrients) increases. Grazing animals also contribute to natural resource problems when they are allowed access to water bodies. Animals with direct access to streams can degrade water quality partly by dropping manure directly into the water, and partly by destabilizing the streambanks and accelerating the loss of riparian corridor vegetation and buffer strips. Unmanaged manure contributes nutrients, disease-causing micro-organisms, and oxygen-demanding organic
