I am sure by now, most of you have heard about the horrible CAFO farms in the United States. I am almost positive you have also heard them referred to as “factory farms” & “corporate farms“.
I just wanted to share with all of you what this is & what it means from a farmer’s perspective.
According to the EPA, an animal feeding operation (AFO) is
“an agricultural operations where animals are kept and raised in confined situations. AFOs congregate animals, feed, manure and urine, dead animals, and production operations on a small land area. Feed is brought to the animals rather than the animals grazing or otherwise seeking feed in pastures, fields, or on rangeland.”
Our farm is an AFO because our girls are confined for 45 days or longer in a 12 month period. This doesn’t have to be consecutive days or months. Just 45 days within a 12 month period. Also, their primary residence is in the barn which doesn’t include any vegetation. So basically they are in a barn with concrete underneath of them.
Because of the amount of manure our farm handles, most of our farm sits on concrete. Our milk cows remain in the barn until the are about 60 days from giving birth. They are “dried off” and sent on a 60 day vacation. Depending on the time of year, they will be out on pasture or housed in a different area of the farm in a different barn. Once they give birth they re-enter the milking string with the rest of the cows in the barn.
The calves are taken away. They are placed in our new calf facility where they are loved on by my children & myself. They transition from their individual calf pins in the barn to an outside calf pin which includes shelter and an outdoor area. After the calves are 90-120 days old they will be taken off of milk and placed in a different setting. From there until they are about two years old they spend the majority if not all of their time on pasture.
The way our farm is currently set up, we do not have the option to allow our milk cows outside during the warmer months. This is something that is incredibly important to us and will be top priority when we purchase our own farm. Until then, we make due with what we have and take care of the girls the best way we can.
So what is a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO). This is basically the same thing in my opinion just split into small, medium & large. See the chart below which can be found on the EPA website.
Mature dairy cattle:
Large CAFO = 700+ cows Medium CAFO= 200-699 cows Small CAFO= less than 200 cows
Technically we are a “SMALL CAFO” because we have under 200 mature cows. Our total operation is about 300 from birth through milking.
For those that have been to our farm or have been following along as we share our farm with those interested. You will know that we love our girls, take the best possible care and are completely devoted to our farm. If you know this, you know that AFO or CAFO is just another meaningless label. It all comes down to the farmer not the label the farm falls under.
Note: We have yearly inspections to make sure our farm is in full compliance with our “Nutrient Management Plan” aka manure management plan with the Department of Agriculture. Cow manure is a valuable asset to our farm, we use it to fertilize the crops we feed our cows. We also take caring of the environment seriously, keeping in compliance with the nutrient management plan is one way we do just that. Read more about the various inspections our farm has each year, here.
Krista Stauffer
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