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Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
Abstract
Animal feeding operations (AFOs) represent a significant source of non-point source pollution for many estuaries in the U.S. AFOs are a source of nutrients, steroids, antibiotics and metals to estuaries such as Chesapeake Bay. In addition to the ecological effects of these components of CAFO runoff, these contaminants may also be useful as indicators of CAFO pollution.
In 2004, in support of the NCCOS Nonpoint Source Pollution plan, CCMA embarked on a collaborative endeavor with CCEHBR, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences (Horn Point) to examine the impact of CAFOs on the water quality of the Choptank River. Work on this project began in spring 2004.
Objectives
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The objectives of this study are to understand the impacts of CAFOs on coastal ecosystems, as indicated by nutrient and organic matter loading, pharmaceutical analysis and multiple antibiotic resistance, and to evaluate the adequacy of this approach for assessing impacted coastal water bodies.
Time Frame
2007.
For More Information
Dave Whitall@noaa.gov
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