Excerpt
Livestock production in the Great Plains has experienced major changes over the past 30 years (GPAC, 1995). Beef feedlots of 50,000 head and greater are now common, and the number and size of concentrated animal feeding operations for dairy, swine and poultry has also increased.
Vertical integration of animal production with increasingly larger concentrations of livestock increases production efficiency. Consequently, the trend toward larger and more concentrated production units is likely to continue. Unfortunately, an animal waste disposal problem and a great potential for groundwater contamination is associated with this trend (Elliot et al. 1973; Schepers et al. 1993). The livestock industry tends to develop near grain producing areas which are often centered along river basins utilized for surface irrigation.
Because soils in the western U.S. are typically low in organic matter, a reasonable remedy is to recycle the nutrients in manures by application to cropland. Reported benefits include increases in soil organic matter, soil nutrient availability, soil permeability and water holding capacity, and reduced soil compaction (Tiarks et al. 1974; Herron and Erhart 1965; Olsen et al. 1970). However, water quality can also be negatively impacted by excessive application rates, poor timing, and mismanagement (GPAC 1995; Liebhardt …
Footnotes
Jessica G. Davis, Monica Young, and Bret Ahnstedt are Associate Professor and interns, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1170.
- Copyright 1997 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.