Wednesday, July 19 from 12 to 1:30 pm CT – Real Farms or Factory Farms? What you need to know about CAFOs

Did you know livestock coming from Iowa’s confined animal feeding operations produce 68 billion pounds of manure annually, and hogs account for the majority of that waste? That’s nearly 68 times the amount of sewage produced by the state’s 3.15 million human residents.

Iowa has over 9,200 known CAFOs. With operations like these on the rise, Iowa’s CAFO problem is more urgent than ever.  

That’s why the Iowa Farmers Union is teaming up with Jefferson County Farmers & Neighbors, Inc. to host a series of training sessions to arm rural citizens with the tools they’ll need to deter CAFOs from entering their communities.

What we’ll cover during this introductory session:

• In-depth discussion to understand what CAFOs are, who owns them, how much they cost, who pays for them, and the difference between factory farms and independent family farms
• The ways CAFOs affect people, the environment, rural communities, and local economies
• How well industry arguments for CAFOs stand up to the facts
• How the Department of Natural Resources regulates CAFOs – the application process and oversight
• What we can do to protect ourselves and our communities from CAFOs
• Action steps we can take now

Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of the CAFO issue in Iowa, the ways they impact our lives, and why it’s important to work together to protect our communities.

A full program will be offered starting January 2024 to help you learn how to safeguard your community against CAFOs. This session will serve as an introduction for those more in-depth sessions.