Myth #4
Facilities don’t have established procedures or plans to avoid or handle spills, runoff, etc.- Opponents say “Livestock operations don’t have plans to prevent pollution from such issues as runoff and lagoon spills.”
- In truth, the 1996 Illinois Livestock Management Facilities Act established requirements for the design, construction, and operation of livestock management and livestock waste-handling facilities. It also established specific procedures and criteria for the siting of such facilities and outline for the public information meeting process. This act requires specific criteria for waste management plans and lagoon designs.
www.agr.state.il.us/Environment/LMFA/index.html
Livestock Producer Environmental Assistance Project, University of Nebraska Lincoln Extension
Did you know that a vegetative treatment system is a different way of designing livestock waste control facilities? This system applies livestock runoff to a vegetated area of perennial grass. The vegetative treatment area (VTA) collects runoff from livestock pens in a sediment basin. As the water and waste collect in the sediment basin for 12 to 24 hours, solids separate to the bottom and the water rises to the top. Utilizing traditional irrigation principals, producers can then apply the liquid waste to their grass.
These pdf files of the production fact sheets can be a useful handout in educating your community in the importance of livestock production.
Myths and Facts on Livestock Expansion Illinois
Myth #1
Livestock odors will cause asthma in my children (air quality)
Myth #2
Livestock operations will pollute my groundwater (water quality)
Myth #3
Antibiotic resistance is a result of modern livestock production.
Myth #4
Facilities don’t have established procedures or plans to avoid or handle spills, runoff, etc.
Myth #5
Use of manure in pivot irrigation spews the smell everywhere.
Myth #6
Toxic chemicals are emitted from livestock facilities.
Myth #7
My property value will decrease if a livestock operation locates next to or near my property.
Myth #8
Our local roads can’t handle the weight of the heavier trucks that livestock operations require.
Myth #9
Livestock operations dispose of dead animals in unsanitary ways.
Myth #10
Livestock operations raise animals in harmful and inhumane ways.
