[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/EW-04-25-12-Hog-Waste.mp3|titles=EW 04-25-12 Hog Waste]
Let’s focus on pigs. Most of the pork we consume comes from massive indoor facilities where a large number of animals are raised in a relatively small space. These operations are notorious for pervasive odors and for causing air and water pollution. For ethical reasons, many people prefer to buy pasture-raised pork.
Pigs grown outdoors can engage in the natural behaviors of foraging, wallowing, and rooting. But happy hogs can damage the environment. The biggest danger is that hog waste will reach waterways, causing water quality problems and damaging freshwater ecosystems.
This happens when hogs are raised too close to streams and wetlands, or when the phosphorus and nitrogen in hog manure leaches through the soil into groundwater.
Hogs’ rooting behavior can also cause erosion that contributes to water pollution.
North Carolina State University researchers are helping farmers to raise hogs humanely while protecting the environment and remaining profitable. They are looking at management practices like reducing the number of pigs in a single paddock, creating buffers between hogs and waterways, and rotating water and food stations to reduce soil compaction.
Another option is to use pigs as part of a farm rotation system in which crops are grown on fields formerly occupied by the animals. These crops will trap and utilize the nutrients in the soil.
This research is helping farmers to be good stewards of the environment while addressing consumer demand for livestock grown outdoors.
Links:
Alternative Swine Production Unit, Center for Environmental Farming Systems, NC State University http://www.cefs.ncsu.edu/whatwedo/researchunits/alternativeswine.html
Photo, taken on April 11, 2008 using a Nikon D50, courtesy of Raj via Flickr.