AFOs

AFOs are agriculture operation where animals are kept and raised in concentrated areas. AFOs congregate animals, feed, manure and urine, dead animals and production operations in a small land area.

EPA and USDA define an AFO or animal feeding operation as the location at which animals are fed and manure is stored and treated and the adjoining land to which the manure is applied.

The proliferation of animal feeding operations (AFOs) has been a feature of the increased intensity, concentration, specialization and consolidation that has been occurring in agriculture in industrialized countries over the past three decades.

The regulatory definition for an AFO states that animals must be kept on the lot or facility for a minimum of 45 days.

The second part of the existing regulatory definition of an AFO is meant to distinguish facilities that have feedlots from those which have pasture and grazing land, which are generally not AFOs.

There have been substantial changes in the US animal production industry over the past several decades. Although the total number of AFOs has decreased, overall production has increased,.

As a result, CAFOs – concentrated animal feeding operations are increasing in size and generating considerably to the central and southwestern regions of the United States, where land is less expensive and population are relatively sparse.
AFOs