Conceptual Framework for the National Pilot Project on Livestock and the Environment, Livestock Series Report 2

Assessing the effects of alternative policies that regulate nonpoint pollution from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) requires insight into the interactions of livestock production practices, waste management technologies, and their impacts on the environment. CAFOs have been identified as a source of nutrient loadings that impair ground and surface water quality, and they can emit intense odor that impairs air quality. This report describes the conceptual framework and the integrated modeling system being developed to evaluate the economic and environmental impacts of alternative policies that abate pollution from CAFOs.