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Dairy Manure Collaborative:
Basic Information
California is the nation's leading dairy state, and dairy products are California's most valuable agricultural product, worth over $5 billion per year. Over the last 30 years, the number of milk cows in California has more than doubled (to over 1.7 million) while the number of dairies has dropped by half (to approximately 2,100). This concentration of the dairy industry has caused a dramatic increase in the average number of animals at new dairies, and a corresponding increase in the amount and concentration of animal waste. Three-quarters of the state's dairy cows are in the San Joaquin Valley, an area that includes rich farm land but also faces serious challenges to air and water quality and has some of the worst poverty in the nation.
Dairy manure contains nutrients, salts, bacteria, and organic matter that can create environmental problems when they enter surface waters or groundwater. Cows, feed, and decomposing manure also emit air pollutants, including volatile organic compounds (precursors to the formation of both fine particulate pollution and ozone), ammonia (a precursor to formation of fine particulates), methane and nitrous oxide (global warming gases), and odors. More efficient management and treatment of dairy manure could improve the quality of soil, air, and water, create jobs and stabilize rural economies, provide a source of renewable energy, and reduce regulatory pressures on dairies. For more information
- California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Agriculture Resource Directory 2007, Livestock and Dairy section (PDF) (21 pp, 1.86M, About PDF)
- California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Dairy 2006 Statistics and Trends, PDF (56 pp, 8.3M, About PDF)
- EPA National Agriculture Compliance Assistance Center's Animal Feeding Operations
- EPA Region 9 Animal Waste