Animal Feeding Operations – An Overview

Background

Animal feeding operations (AFOs) are agricultural businesses and operations where animals are kept and raised in confined situations. Animals found in these operations are used to produce dairy products, to lay eggs, or to be slaughtered. Rather than sending animals out to graze on farmland, feed is brought to the animals within these operations. This type of agricultural operation operates on a small area of land to perform its functions. The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) estimates that there are approximately 450,000 AFOs within the United States.

According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, animal products account for more than fifty percent of the value of U.S. agricultural products, exceeding $120 billion per year.  The animals and animal products produced in AFOs are a significant component of this $120 billion figure.

AFOs implicate a number of legal, economic, and policy issues.  Issue areas include finance and credit, market concentration, production contracts, animal identification, animal welfare, the Packers and Stockyards Act (PSA), the impact of AFOs on natural resources and the environment, the application of state and local zoning laws, and state nuisance laws.

The Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act (CWA) defines an “animal feeding operation” as a lot or facility other than an aquatic animal production facility where animals “have been, are, or will be stabled or confined and fed or maintained for a total of 45 days or more in any 12-month period.”  In addition, for a facility to be considered an AFO, crops, vegetation, forage growth, or post-harvest residues cannot be sustained in the normal growing season over any portion of the lot or facility.

The CWA is a central component of the regulation of animal feeding operations.  In particular, the CWA requires Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit (NPDES) for their “point source” discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States. CAFOs are a subset of AFOs and used to described AFOs with more than 1,000 animal units. This type of AFO is specifically governed by the “CAFO Rule” in the CWA. The CWA similarly applies to “concentrated aquatic animal production facilities.” The Environmental Protection Agency bears primary responsibility for implementing the CWA and its regulations.  For a broader discussion of the CWA, please visit the Clean Water Act Reading Room.

Other Applicable Laws

Other federal statutes also affect AFOs.  These include the Clean Air Act; the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act; and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.  Each of these federal statutes are attended by extensive implementing regulations.

State and local laws may also affect the operation of AFOs, including common law actions under nuisance, trespass, or negligence theories.  In addition, issues related to state and local land use provisions, zoning ordinances, and other such measures have also been raised in the AFO context.  For information concerning nuisance, land use, zoning ordinances, and related issues, please visit the Urban Encroachment Reading Room and the Landowner Liability Reading Room.

Production Contracts

AFOs typically operate under legal arrangements referred to as production contracts.   Under these contracts, the processor usually owns and supplies the animals raised by the producer.  The contracts require the animals to be raised in accordance with instructions specified in the contract.  For a more complete discussion of the legal issues surrounding production contracts, please visit the Production Contracts Reading Room.

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

The NRCS offers a Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP) for AFO and CAFO owners and operators. The goal of this program is help owners and operators take voluntary steps to reduce the amount air and water pollutants produced by the operations. The CNMP usually provides financial assistance to support practices that will protect natural resources.

Other Issue Areas

For information pertaining to the application of the Packers and Stockyards Act to AFOs, please visit the Packers and Stockyards Act Reading Room.  Additional information addressing the interrelationship between AFOs and the National Animal Identification System can be found in the Animal Identification Statutes Publication.  The Finance & Credit Reading Room contains resources related to financing issues applicable to AFOs.  For research and information related to the application of federal conservation programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), please visit the Conservation Programs Reading Room.  Finally, for an overview of environmental laws in general, please see the Environmental Law Reading Room.

Farm System Reform Act

In 2019 and 2020, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) introduced bills to create the Farm System Reform Act. The bill never made it past the introductory stage, but it was re-introduced in 2021 in both the House and the Senate. The law would place an immediate moratorium on both new and expanded CAFOs, require large CAFOs to stop operating as large CAFOs by 2040, and authorize a voluntary buyout program for AFO operators who want to transition to other activities. It would also amend the PSA in an effort to protect family farmers and ranchers as well as restore or institute mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef, pork, and dairy products. The bill has received both support and criticism from the agriculture industry. As of January 2022, the Senate version had been referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, while the House version was referred to the House Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture.