Nitrates from hog waste can contaminate drinking wells. Monitoring has shown that a number of shallow groundwater drinking wells located down gradient of hog and chicken farms contain significant concentrations of nitrate. Recent state analyses found 10% of the wells near large hog and chicken operations have abnormally high levels of nitrates in the drinking water (Rudo, 1998).
The concentration of nitrates in groundwater below sprayfields used by hog and chicken operations has been measured at 10 to 50 parts per million (Showers, 1998; Crouse, 1998). The public health standard is 10 parts per million. High levels of nitrates are dangerous to humans, especially pregnant women and babies, and are associated with a number of public health concerns such as abortions and "blue baby syndrome" (a disease affecting the blood's ability to absorb oxygen).
Concerns are also being expressed about phosphorus building up in agricultural soils. Animal waste applied to land typically contains levels of phosphorus far in excess of crop needs. Once thought to be safely locked in soils, phosphorus loss in surface runoff is now being reported (Sharpley et al, 1998). Movement of this phosphorus into surface streams can extend the range of harmful algal blooms from nitrogen-limited estuaries into phosphorus-limited freshwater streams.
Environmental Defense 2000
CONCERNS ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT
How do hog factories contribute to nitrogen pollution?
Hog waste contains large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus that, during the treatment process, are released into the air, leak from waste lagoons into the ground, and drain and leach from fields into rivers, streams, and estuaries. Hogs in North Carolina generate over 640,000 pounds of nitrogen per day or 233 million pounds per year. They generate over 213,000 pounds of phosphorus per day or 77.9 million pounds of phosphorus per year (North Carolina State University, 1997). The 10 million hogs concentrated in eastern North Carolina are producing far too much nitrogen, more than can be productively used by crops (Lander, et al, 1998).
The majority of this nitrogen ends up in the air as ammonia, a highly reactive and biologically-available form of nitrogen, which then rains back down onto land and waters. Ammonia is released from hog waste throughout the disposal process -- first directly from the hog house, then from the open-air waste lagoon, and finally by being shot into the air on to the sprayfield.
Nitrogen on the ground as ammonia can quickly convert to nitrates, which can drain from fields into waterways if overapplied or applied when plant needs are low. Nitrate is highly soluble and moves quickly through soil and groundwater. Drainage ditches crisscrossing fields in the flat, sandy soils of rural North Carolina act as conduits to rivers and streams for hog waste which has seeped into shallow groundwater below sprayfields, especially after the frequent rains which are common to the coastal region. If improperly applied to fields that are wet or already saturated with nitrogen, runoff and leaching are far more likely to send the extra nutrients into waterways.
Environmental Defense 2000
AIR POLLUTION FROM NITROGEN AMMONIA
Hogs in North Carolina release over 167 million pounds or almost 69 tons of nitrogen into the air per year, or over 458,000 pounds per day (based upon 1997 hog population estimate and emission factors from Battye, et al., 1994). Blown down wind, this ammonia nitrogen subsequently rains down on sensitive rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters in North Carolina, possibly impacting waters as far away as the Chesapeake Bay (Dennis, 1997).
Studies in the North Carolina region where hog factories are clustered show that ammonia measured in rain has doubled in the last decade (Cornelius, 1997). Current hog waste practices discharge more airborne ammonia nitrogen than all other state livestock and industrial sources combined (Aneja, 1997). This is true despite the fact that North Carolina is #1 in the country in turkey production and #4 in broilers (chickens).
Results from ongoing research on the fate and transport (where it lands) of the atmospheric ammonia nitrogen emissions from hog operations are not yet available. However, preliminary analysis indicates that hog factories pour more nitrogen pollution through the air alone into eastern North Carolina estuaries than all of the discharges from municipal waste water treatment plants and industrial factories combined (Rudek, 1997). Agricultural nitrogen emissions in 1995 were estimated to load more than 2 million pounds of nitrogen per year to the Neuse River Estuary alone. This is comparable to the estimated 2.1 million pounds of nitrogen per year delivered to the Neuse estuary from municipal wastewater treatment plants in 1995.
Using waste lagoons and sprayfields promotes the atmospheric dumping of ammonia nitrogen. Neither North Carolina nor the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency currently regulates any air emissions from hog operations.
Environmental Defense 2000
NPK Solutions Inc.
ORGANIC FARMING
Organic farming became one of the fastest growing segments of U.S. agriculture during the 1990's. U.S. producers are turning to certified organic farming systems as a potential way to lower input costs, decrease reliance on nonrenewable resources, capture high-value markets and premium prices, and boost farm income. Organic farming systems rely on ecologically based practices and virtually exclude the use of synthetic chemicals in crop production.
HOG PRODUCTION
The United States of America is currently the 2nd largest hog producer in the world. The hog sector is the first sub-market to be targeted by NPK Solutions. The hog market has been chosen due to its rapid expansion and the environmental problems that accompany that expansion.
The MANURA® technology was developed to process hog manure in an environmentally friendly manner. The hog industry is entering a period of concentrated growth after a ten-year consolidation period. Expansion and the construction of new facilities are occurring to meet the growing demands for pork. Economies of scale play a large role in the success of hog operations and hence producers are increasing the number of animals per location.
However, this increase in animal concentration has led to serious waste management problems as the large volumes of waste being generated require significant land mass for application.
ORGANIC FOOD INDUSTRY
The fastest growing organic market segment in the U.S. is that of fresh fruit and vegetables. This market segment accounts for an estimated $2.4 Billion sales per annum. It comprises 40% of an estimated $6 Billion total organic food sales per annum. Organic production of fresh fruit and vegetables is the target market for NPK Solutions but other crops will be considered.
U.S. farmers and ranchers have added a million acres of certified organic cropland and pasture since 1997 (certified by state or private organizations), bringing the total to 2.35 million acres in 48 states in 2001. According to USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS), farmers and ranchers certified about 1.3 million acres of cropland and 1 million acres of pasture and rangeland in 2001.
Overall, certified organic cropland and pasture accounted for 0.3 percent of U.S. cropland and pasture in 2002, although for some crop sectors, particularly fruits and vegetables, the proportions were much higher. Examples include organic apples (3 percent of that crop's acreage), organic carrots (4 percent).
The organic farm sector differs substantially from the conventional farm sector
having a higher proportion of cropland devoted to vegetable production. While
total vegetable acreage in the U.S. accounts for under 1 percent of total U.S.
cropland, certified organic vegetable acreage accounts for nearly 5 percent of
the total cropland under certified organic management.
Certified organic vegetables were grown in more states than any other organic crop.
