The Economic Impacts of Restricting Agricultural Uses of Manure on Hog Farms in Southern Seaboard

Abstract

ABSTRACT EPA in December, 2000 proposed rules that would bring more livestock operations under regulation and restrict manure application more closely to crop nutrient needs. This paper, using individual whole-farm modeling applied to survey data, assessed the impacts of the proposed regulation on hog farms in the Southern Seaboard region. Results showed impacts would be particularly severe on large-size farms (over 2,500 pigs) applying manure to Bermuda hay. Feeding hogs a phytase diet that reduces phosphorous in manure reduced the income loss for farms with limited acres for applying manure.