{"id":28780,"date":"2024-10-16T15:23:09","date_gmt":"2024-10-16T19:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/?p=28780"},"modified":"2024-10-16T15:32:58","modified_gmt":"2024-10-16T19:32:58","slug":"fall-2024-mapping-the-impacts-of-north-carolinas-poultry-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/fall-2024-mapping-the-impacts-of-north-carolinas-poultry-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Mapping the Impacts of North Carolina\u2019s Poultry Industry\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
\"Close-up
Credit: USDA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

IT WAS THE SUMMER OF 2016. I HAD ONLY LIVED IN NORTH CAROLINA FOR A YEAR AND WAS ON MY NEW DAILY COMMUTE DOWN I-95 FROM FAYETTEVILLE TO LUMBERTON when the smell assaulted me \u2014 an acrid, nauseating, rotting odor. I glanced around to see if there was an evident source when I noticed another clue in white bits of fluff brushing past the windshield, leaving a trail from something just out of sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was it ash? Was there a wildfire? As I crested a hill, a truck emerged, and I realized what downy substance dotted the wind \u2014 feathers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From behind, the truck was stacked at least ten cages high and three across, each filled to capacity with chickens unable to fully stand. I\u2019ve since learned that these trailers can haul 3,000 or more chickens<\/a>. These frequent interstate confrontations are due to the ubiquity of the facilities: NC produces over 1 billion chickens and turkeys per year and is home to over 4,600 poultry farms<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How might these farms, raising anywhere from 20,000 to 1.5 million chickens at a time<\/a>, affect nearby (and often under-resourced) communities? How do concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and their waste, an estimated 2.5 billion pounds annually for chickens alone<\/a>, impact our state\u2019s waterways? How has the rapid expansion of this industry over the last few decades compounded these problems?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These concerns are part of what motivates Colleen Brown, the 2023-24 joint North Carolina Sea Grant and Space Grant Graduate Research Fellow and Ph.D. student in applied coastal and ocean sciences at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Her work began as an undergraduate, examining sources of nutrient pollution in the lower Cape Fear River basin, and has evolved into her current research, which investigates water quality changes in the lower Cape Fear River basin over the past two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
An iconic image of the South: the chicken truck. Credit: Ben\/Wikimedia Commons\/CC-BY-2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat kept coming to my attention is water pollution, specifically the impacts of industrial agricultural facilities on the water here in North Carolina,\u201d says Brown. \u201cBut the overarching understanding of what we got from looking at the 20 years of data is that water quality in the lower Cape Fear River basin has been getting worse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lower Cape Fear River watershed has the highest density of CAFOs worldwide, containing 10 million hogs, 16 million turkeys, and 300 million chickens<\/a>, with the most concentrated areas in Duplin and Sampson counties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown used the Lower Cape Fear River Program\u2019s dataset to assess water quality changes for the past two decades at 30 streams throughout the lower Cape Fear River basin. This data indicated increased water pollutants, such as fecal bacteria and nutrients. She hypothesized the state\u2019s growth of poultry CAFOs may be a primary cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The possible connection was worth exploring due to the increased concentrations of fecal bacteria and nutrients, primarily nitrate and phosphorous, found in waste and fertilizers. In their efforts to identify the cause of this increased pollution, she and her colleagues considered factors such as population increase, land use change and urbanization, and increased infrastructure, like additional wastewater treatment plants and septic systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m focusing on pollutants,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd the pollution issues, specifically nutrient pollutants in the lower Cape Fear River watershed, have a lot to do with the CAFO industry and the waste.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
The lower Cape Fear River watershed has the highest density of concentrated animal feeding operations  (CAFOs) in the world \u2014 but tracking their environmental impact can be difficult. Credit: Colleen Brown\/created using NPDES permit and ArcGIS Online.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mapping the Problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Swine CAFOs utilize \u201cwaste lagoons\u201d to store wet waste, which farmers later spray onto fields as fertilizer \u2014 a controversial practice that could affect air quality and may also make its way into runoff during flooding events. Conversely, poultry CAFOs produce dry litter waste that is less regulated, and farmers often store it covered outside; this storage method is permitted if the litter is not uncovered for over 15 days and more than 100 feet from streams, waterbodies, or wells.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dry litter does not require a permit, but farms with wet waste need a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. Per the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), these are required for anyone discharging pollutants \u201cthrough a \u2018point source\u2019 into a \u2018water of the United States.\u2019\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown started her investigation using NPDES permit records to determine CAFO locations. She created a density heat map from this data and found a correlation between the concentration of these facilities and areas with increased pollution. Because poultry operations are dry litter, this method did not account for their locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the number of swine facilities has remained relatively steady due to regulations, the same cannot be said for poultry. \u201cWe know there\u2019s also been an explosion of poultry CAFOs,\u201d says Brown. \u201cWhat I want to know is, where<\/em> are these poultry locations?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown needed a record of these locations over time to better understand how facilities could affect state waters. Since there were no NPDES permits or publicly available poultry CAFO location data to trace the growth of poultry facilities, she turned to county-scale survey data of animal production counts, but this still presented an incomplete picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Inside a poultry CAFO in Texas. Credit: USDA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports the number of chickens produced per county every 1-5 years (survey and census years). According to a 2017 NC Water Resources report<\/a>, though, information that can be linked to a specific farm is often legally withheld, meaning the reports may underrepresent the total number of chickens produced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The available data allows researchers to gauge which counties have a high concentration of poultry CAFOs, but the location, size, and quantity of the facilities are unavailable. \u201cWhen I asked for more poultry data, the UDSA stated they \u2018have published what is publishable,\u2019\u201d says Brown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut we need to know where they\u2019re located so we can actually quantify the amount of waste they\u2019re adding to the system and then be able to understand the impacts.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown says about 200 million chickens are produced annually in the lower Cape Fear River basin \u2014 which, she adds, is about 100 chickens for every person in the lower basin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at 12 million tons of waste produced a year for the poultry and swine industries each<\/em>,\u201d she explains. \u201cSo, we\u2019re talking 24 to 25 million tons of waste produced in the lower Cape Fear River watershed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown continued researching other methods to answer her question since permits and surveys could not tell her the location of poultry CAFOs. This eventually led her to machine learning \u2014 a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that uses data and algorithms to \u201cteach\u201d computers. \u201cThere\u2019s not a lot of integration of machine learning and water quality science,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s new in the last decade and is an exciting field to explore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"image:<\/a>
North of Myerstown, PA. Credit: USDA\/Lance Cheung.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

She developed a successful model that can identify poultry CAFOs from aerial imagery, which will allow her to pinpoint facility locations and overlay them onto watershed maps. Doing so will inform how these facilities affect watersheds, ecosystems, and state communities on a more localized level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hidden Costs: The Disproportionate Impacts of CAFOs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Environmental matters are not the only things that motivate this study. \u201cThis is also an issue of environmental justice,\u201d says Brown. \u201cWe know CAFOs are concentrated in certain areas, and where are they concentrated? They\u2019re disproportionately impacting marginalized communities. The areas with high poverty rates and high percentages of minority groups.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2021 study in Environmental Research<\/em><\/a> found that CAFOs in North Carolina were disproportionately located in communities with low incomes and higher percentages of minorities. Smell and the constant passage of livestock trucks are not the only concerns for nearby residents. Facilities can impact the property values of homes and leave residents unable to sell and relocate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Charlotte Observer<\/em>\u2019s 2022 report, \u201cBig Poultry,\u201d<\/a> estimated that 230,000 residents in the state live within smelling range (half a mile) of a poultry CAFO, 450,000 are within a proximity that increases the risk for pneumonia (three-quarters of a mile), and 690,000 are within a distance that potentially affects property values (one mile).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2023 Environmental Health Perspectives<\/em> study<\/a> in NC\u2019s Duplin County similarly found that \u201cpeople of low income, people of color, people with low educational attainment, and the linguistically isolated in the Duplin Region are disproportionately exposed to higher levels of pollutants [from CAFOs] than the average exposure for residents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
North of Myerstown, PA. Credit: USDA\/Lance Cheung.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Research published in Environmental International<\/em><\/a> suggested that CAFOs may be a source of adverse air quality associated with respiratory health for nearby residents. Similarly, a Yale study found that high exposure may contribute to anemia and a higher risk of kidney or cardiovascular mortality.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown reports they can cause respiratory issues and impact their neighbors\u2019 quality of life: \u201cCAFOs affect your health and well-being even just living near them. Not even working in one, but just living near it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although poultry CAFOs impact the health of localized communities, North Carolina Field & Family<\/em> reports that poultry alone creates more than 100,000 jobs for North Carolinians and represents a $34 billion industry.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe used to have a lot of really small farms in North Carolina, and they\u2019ve been forced into this industrial scale of production over time,\u201d explains Brown. \u201cA lot of these farms are still family-owned, or they\u2019re small farming businesses, but the way they have to operate now is under large corporation contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under this arrangement, Brown says, larger companies, or \u201cintegrators,\u201d outsource the raising of their livestock to family farms. The corporations provide the animals, feed, and veterinary care but leave the facilities up to the farmer. Per the USDA, this system accounts for 99.5 percent of broiler chickens in the U.S.<\/a>, and local farmers told the Charlotte Observer<\/em> in 2023 that it leaves them with little control, unexpected costs, and massive amounts of debt.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
A poultry operation floods after Hurricane Florence in 2018. Credit: Emily Sutton\/The Waterkeepers Alliance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe small farmers have to provide the buildings, they have to provide the land, they have to manage the manure, hire the workers, and do everything,\u201d says Brown. \u201cAnd then you have these big integrators that own the animals. They don\u2019t have to deal with pollution. They\u2019re not the ones having to handle the manure and waste and regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do we reconcile economic needs with environmental concerns?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIndustrial jobs are important to North Carolina,\u201d says Brown. \u201cThey\u2019re crucial for our economy, and they\u2019re crucial for the wellbeing of our people. We obviously need farms. We need healthy food. And we need food that\u2019s not just healthy for us to ingest, but also food production that\u2019s healthy for our environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CAFOs and Climate Change<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cClimate change can intensify pollution from CAFOs and other agricultural practices,\u201d says Sarah Mehdaova, North Carolina Sea Grant\u2019s coastal public health specialist. \u201cExtreme weather events like heavy rainfall and floods can lead to the overflow of manure lagoons and the spread of pollutants into nearby water bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The subsequent pollution of waterways with excess nutrients, \u201ceutrophication,\u201d can cause toxic algal blooms, decrease oxygen content, lead to fish kills, and result in unsafe concentrations of fecal bacteria in waterways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe thing is, we\u2019re all wetlands here in the coastal plain,\u201d says Brown. \u201cThere are a lot of ways that the nutrients are cycled through a system naturally, but when we keep adding more, it\u2019s the issue of the excess.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Brown (here, stream sampling) plans to share her findings with policymakers to  help inform decisions about the health of NC waterways, while providing a model  that will serve as a framework for researchers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to the EPA, agriculture can also degrade well water<\/a>, which is a concern for the 2.4 million North Carolinians who rely on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAgricultural practices, particularly the use of fertilizers and pesticides, can significantly affect well water quality,\u201d says Mehdaova. \u201cPrivate wells, which are not subject to the same regulations as public water systems, are particularly vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown says this pollution is out of sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not seeing it, and a lot of people think seeing is believing. You can see an algal bloom, but you\u2019re seeing the effect and not necessarily the pollutants themselves. You\u2019re not seeing it until it\u2019s already impacted people when it\u2019s serious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, the chain reaction that eutrophication sets off can also lead to ocean acidification, which, according to NOAA, can affect wildlife populations and development, lower harvest rates, and eventually increase seafood prices.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAgricultural pollution has been highlighted by the United Nations as one of the largest contributors to coastal eutrophication,\u201d explains Brown. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t just impact our local drinking water sources and ecosystems. It goes directly into the Atlantic Ocean, which impacts our global ocean\u2019s water quality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Colleen Brown (right) presented her research to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland (left). Credit: Michael Spencer\/UNCW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Machine Learning, Environmental Research, and Looking Forward<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These issues of environmental justice, pollution, and climate change reinforced Brown\u2019s desire to locate poultry CAFOs in NC and determine their influence on state waterways. However, this required acquiring an  entirely new skill: machine learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown used publicly available aerial imagery (from the National Agricultural Imagery Program) to \u201cteach\u201d her machine learning model to identify swine CAFOs (distinguishable by the presence of a waste lagoon), poultry CAFOs (no waste lagoon), and areas with neither.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her current model is at over 95% accuracy for classifying aerial images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the next couple of weeks,\u201d she says, \u201cI will start to get the point locations of CAFOs and eventually create a public database where people can access the locations. Open science is a big thing for me because collaboration is key.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She can then overlay these locations onto watershed delineation maps and compare them to the Lower Cape Fear River Program\u2019s data on water quality. This will allow her to determine to what extent poultry CAFOs have influenced pollution in NC\u2019s lower Cape Fear River basin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown\u2019s work reveals the utility of machine learning and AI in addressing environmental issues. The UN Environment Program<\/a> has integrated AI for monitoring methane emissions, tracking air quality, and measuring environmental footprints, while NASA<\/a> and NOAA<\/a> have also started implementing it in their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Brown is also mindful of recent concerns about AI\u2019s environmental impacts due to its energy consumption. \u201cIt\u2019s not without a cost that weighs on me: How can I study one form of pollution but be ignorant to another?\u201d she asks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown plans on transitioning into a career as a water quality scientist who uses integrative approaches to solve water resource issues. Her dream has been to work with NOAA, and now she\u2019s interested in a career with NASA, which she didn\u2019t believe was possible until this project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Over 200 students and professionals gathered at the NC Space Symposium on March 22nd to celebrate advancements in STEM research. Credit: NC Space Grant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the North Carolina Space Symposium, a scientist gave a presentation on using machine learning and satellite imagery to help understand flooding changes,\u201d she recalls. \u201cThat\u2019s so similar to the research I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown previously presented her research to the United States Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, and the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Liz Klein, during their visit to the University of North Carolina Wilmington\u2019s Center for Marine Science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSecretary Haaland is the embodiment of an Earth steward,\u201d Brown says. \u201cShe\u2019s a steward of the environment. She\u2019s a steward of the people. She was so thoughtful and really listened. I mean, what a beautiful thing for her to visit, and then you have solidarity with somebody who also understands these issues and is encouraging of the research behind them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown hopes her findings will help policymakers and the future health of NC\u2019s waterways and that her model can serve as a framework for researchers elsewhere. \u201cIt\u2019s not farmers versus scientists,\u201d says Brown. \u201cWe\u2019re all on the same side when it comes to wanting clean water and a healthy community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NC Sea Grant and Space Grant Graduate Research Fellowship<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2024 North Carolina Space Symposium<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coastwatch<\/em> on the disproportional effects of flooding and water quality: \u201cTroubled Waters: Flooding, Contaminants, and Heightened Risks\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coastwatch<\/em> on healthy ecosystems<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charlotte Observer <\/em>report on \u201cBig Poultry“<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOAA\u2019s \u201cWhat is eutrophication?“<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cape Fear River Watch CAFO information<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

EPA on agriculture impacts<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marlo Chapman is a science communicator with North Carolina Sea Grant  and a contributing editor for <\/em>Coastwatch. Her writing also has appeared  in <\/em>American Scientist. She recently graduated with an M.A. in English  from NC State University<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FROM THE FALL 2024 ISSUE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How might poultry farms, raising anywhere from 20,000 to 1.5 million chickens at a time, affect nearby communities? How do concentrated animal feeding operations and their waste, an estimated 2.5 billion pounds annually for chickens alone, impact our state\u2019s waterways? 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Their operation includes a farmstead and pollinator garden that was hosting bumble bees on the day of this visit. NRCS has a proud history of supporting America\u2019s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners. For more than 80 years, we have helped people make investments in their operations and local communities to keep working lands working, boost rural economies, increase the competitiveness of American agriculture, and improve the quality of our air, water, soil, and habitat. As the USDA\u2019s primary private lands conservation agency, we generate, manage, and share the data, technology, and standards that enable partners and policymakers to make decisions informed by objective, reliable science. And through one-on-one, personalized advice, we work voluntarily with producers and communities to find the best solutions to meet their unique conservation and business goals. By doing so, we help ensure the health of our natural resources and the long-term sustainability of American agriculture. Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) is the Department\u2019s focal point for the nation\u2019s farmers and ranchers and other stewards of private agricultural lands and non-industrial private forest lands. FPAC agencies implement programs designed to mitigate the significant risks of farming through crop insurance services, conservation programs and technical assistance, and commodity, lending, and disaster programs. The agencies and service supporting FPAC are Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Risk Management Agency (RMA). 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