Missouri

Information and Resources

Map of Missouri CAFOs and AFOs

(Missouri Department of Natural Resources, January 2005)

Hog Wars: The Corporate Grab for Control of the Hog Industry and How Citizens Are Fighting Back

A great overview of the hog factory farm situation from In Motion Magazine.

Missouri counties known to have county health ordinances

A list of counties known to have county health or zoning restrictions on animal feeding operations and counties containing townships with zoning restrictions on animal feeding operations.

America’s Animal Factories: How States Fail to Prevent Pollution from Livestock Waste

This Natural Resources Defense Council report describes the environmental and public health impacts of pollution generated by factory farms. Includes activist contacts and resources.

Anti-Corporate Farming Laws in the Heartland (1997)

The Corporate-Controlled Factory System is Inherently Flawed

Subtitled: “There is a better way – independent family farmers.” From a December 1998 speech by the Executive Director of the Missouri Crisis Center. (In Motion Magazine)

EPA Files Lawsuit Against Nation’s 3rd Largest Hog Producer

A Sierra Club press release describing a Motion to Intervene filed by the EPA and US Department of Justice in a lawsuit filed by a group of farmers and rural residents.

Forage and Grassland Improvement – Livestock Producers Explore Best Management Practices

Report about Missouri livestock producers and the benefits of rotational grazing. (US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water)

The Impacts of Animal Feeding Operations on Rural Land Values

Notes that staggering land devaluation occurs near the county’s CAFOs. Bottom line – $2.68 million in loss of land value for Saline county and 99 property owners within 3 miles of CAFOs, or an average of $112 per acre! (Community Policy Analysis Center, University of Missouri – Columbia, May 1999)

Impact of Anti-Corporate Farming Laws in Missouri

From 1994 to 1998, the number of livestock operations with 1-99 head fell from 50.5 to 42 percent of the market share, while 100-499 head operations grew from 34.3 to 36.0 percent, and 500+ head operations gained from 15.2 to 22 percent market share.
General Figures: In 1976, the state was the fourth largest hog producer, with 5 million hogs; in 1992, Missouri was ranked seventh in hog production with 2.8 million hogs.
From 1969 to 1987, the number of Missouri farmers selling fewer than 100 hogs a year dropped from 20,585 to 6,768.
Contract farming rose from eight to twenty percent from 1986 to 1992.
The number of farms has dropped from 111,000 (1993) to 110,000 (1998)
Average farm size has risen from 272 (1993) acres to 274 acres (1998)
Small Sales Class farms rose from 59,600 farms (1993) to 62,700 farms (1998); Middle Sales Class farms fell from 41,800 farms to 36,700 farms; Large Sales Class farms rose from 9,600 farms to 10,600 farms
Source: Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund

The Izaak Walton League’s Fish Kill Advisory Network (FKAN)

The FKAN maintains a searchable database of fish kills and manure spills in the Upper Mississippi River Basin states (IL, IA, MN, MO, and WI). All records in the database have been verified by state agencies, and have been compiled on a map of fish kills and manure spills in the region.

Rural America

An In Motion Magazine column co-edited by the Missouri Rural Crisis Center, which is a statewide organization of farmers and their families with thirteen chapters around the state of Missouri.

State Information

Provides state legislative information along with documents related to state and local government. (Washburn University School of Law)

US Farms – State Fact Sheets

Links for each state, with current information about farm size, financial status, rural employment, land use, and more. (USDA)

Water Quality in the Mississippi Embayment, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky 1995-98

Water quality assessment reports from the US Geological Survey.

State and Local Government

Groups

Patchwork Family Farms

The “Patchwork Family Farm Products” label tells consumers that the product was raised by local Missouri farmers who follow strict standards of sustainable agriculture such as no growth hormones or antibiotic feed, integrated pest management, environmentally-friendly methods of fertilization, crop rotation and minimum tillage.

Great Rivers Environmental Law Center

This nonprofit organization provides public interest legal services to organizations, citizen groups, and individuals who seek to protect the environment. Great Rivers’ mission is to promote public health through clean air and water, preserve open spaces and wetlands, and advocate for the environmental justice concerns of disadvantaged populations.

Socially Responsible Agricultural Project