What are waste lagoons on hog farms?
The state’s hog waste management works by funneling feces, urine, and blood from hog farms into massive open waste lagoons, which let off foul odors and methane gas. When the lagoons become full, the waste water is often sprayed onto fields as nutrients for crops.
What do farmers do with pig waste?
Currently, most swine waste is treated as a liquid in earthen containment structures called lagoons, in which bacteria break down the waste aerobically. The treated effluent from the lagoons is then sprayed onto field crops that use the nutrients contained in the effluent.
How long will hog lagoons last?
Most lagoons are designed for a 10- to 20-year sludge volume and life span.
What happens to a pig farm waste lagoon when it rains?
When a pig in a large-scale farm urinates or defecates, the waste falls through slatted floors into holding troughs below. When storms like Florence hit, lagoons can release their waste into the environment through structural damage (for example, when rains erode the banks of a lagoon and cause breaches).
Why are manure lagoons bad?
Liquid manure stored in a lagoon is typically sprayed untreated on cropland or pastures through a large sprinkler system. Excess manure can harm crop growth, contaminate soils, cause surface and groundwater pollution, and waste valuable nutrients.
What is the purpose of manure lagoons?
An anaerobic lagoon or manure lagoon is a man-made outdoor earthen basin filled with animal waste that undergoes anaerobic respiration as part of a system designed to manage and treat refuse created by concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
Why are pig farms bad?
Pigs face so much cruelty and pain on factory farms. One of the more shocking practices on factory farms is the performance of painful procedures on piglets. Physical mutilations like castration or tail docking are painful, traumatic, and often done without anesthetic.
Why is pig manure toxic?
Pig feed is high in a chemical called phytate, which swine excrete as phosphorus. When farmers fertilize their land with the manure, the phosphorus can become concentrated in the soil and leach into ground water, killing fish and other aquatic life.
How do lagoons process swine feces?
Once in the lagoon, the manure settles into two layers: a solid or sludge layer and a liquid layer. The manure then undergoes the process of anaerobic respiration, whereby the volatile organic compounds are converted into carbon dioxide and methane.
What happens to most of the waste an animal’s body makes?
While human waste is treated in municipal sewer systems and subject to strict regulation, animal waste is stored in open ponds (called lagoons) or pits and is applied untreated as fertilizer to farm fields.
Why are hog lagoons pink?
The pink tint often seen on hog lagoons means it is working as intended. Purple sulfur bacteria reduce the concentration hydrogen sulfide, a significant source of odor. In other words, pink reduces stink.
Where does the waste go on a hog farm?
A modern hog-raising operation may house tens of thousands of animals, all producing waste nonstop, which flows into a vast holding pond and mainly just stays there—when all goes according to plan.
How are hog lagoons used to collect waste?
No, those ponds aren’t hogwash, they’re actually hog waste. Technically, the pools of waste are hog lagoons. They’re used to collect waste from the animals that then mixes with water in order to break the feces down.
How many fish died in Oceanview hog farm?
When it doesn’t, such as happened in June 1995 at Oceanview Hog Farm in North Carolina, the holding pond gives way and 25 million gallons of liquid waste inundates the vicinity, submerging planted fields and killing 3,000 fish in a nearby river.
Is the waste from a pig farm bad for You?
You’re right to be skeptical, Mike. Industrial pig farming is gross, and industrial pig farm waste, which is measured in the millions of gallons, is really gross. However, it won’t kill you in minutes. Having investigated, I think we can safely conclude that somebody got their stories mixed up.