A Decision Support System for Planning and Management of Sustainable Livestock Production in the Midwest

Background

The Midwest Corn Belt region contains many agriculturally dependent areas that are experiencing or are expected to experience significant growth in livestock production and associated value-added industries. These areas contain soil and water resources that are both essential for crop/livestock production and rural economic development and vulnerable to contamination from land application of animal waste. Soil, air and water quality impacts of expansion in livestock production can be minimized by providing farmers, agribusiness, rural communities, and resource managers with information regarding the environmental consequences and economic implications of alternative production strategies. New tools are needed to evaluate the scale, type and location of livestock production enterprises that are consistent with the goals of economic development and environmental protection.

Southern Iowa and southern Missouri are representative of many agricultural areas in the Midwest Corn Belt that are pursuing expansion in livestock production and supporting industries as an economic development strategy. Expansion in swine production in southern Iowa and poultry production in southern Missouri can be economically rewarding and resource conserving provided producers employ efficient production practices that maintain air quality, protect fragile soil resources, and minimize water pollution. Unless economic and environmental objectives are balanced, growth in swine and broiler production in these regions is likely to occur at the expense of environmental quality, particularly in environmentally vulnerable areas.

Objectives

The overall goal of this project is to develop a decision support system for (a) selecting optimal sites for animal production facilities and for land application of waste at the whole-farm or watershed level, and (b) evaluating the environmental and economic implications of production practices and waste management strategies. In order to realize this goal, this project will integrate a multi-criteria site-evaluation model, economic optimization model, and biophysical modeling with a geographic information system (GIS). The purpose of this integration is to facilitate a closer linkage between spatial analysis, environmental modeling, economic modeling, and decision-making with regard to planning sustainable livestock production systems in the Midwest.

The specific objectives of the project are:

1. To develop a GIS-based site selection system for identifying land areas suitable for siting animal facilities and for land application of animal wastes.
2. To develop a decision support system for evaluating the economic and environmental impacts of livestock production practices and land application of animal wastes.
3. Determine the effectiveness of alternative cropping systems, animal manure management practices or other landscape reconfiguration strategies in reducing adverse effects of livestock production on soil, air and water resources.

Methods

1. Existing GIS database for each targeted watershed will be integrated with a multi-criteria evaluation model (Jankowski and Richard, 1994) to determine alternative choices in land suitability for siting animal production facilities. The integrated system will be used to assess the spatial arrangement of livestock facilities and the spatial distribution of swine manure and broiler litter application areas that minimize odor nuisance complaints and reduce potential risks of surface and ground water pollution.
   
2. The integrated decision support system will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of different siting criteria adopted by the two states, recommend optimal setback distances between neighbors and vulnerable water resources, and identify waste management practices that increases economic returns while reducing environmental pollution. Management practices such as tillage, vegetative filter strips and crop rotation, as well as alternative timing, method and rate of swine manure or broiler litter application will be examined to see whether they can increase the extent to which livestock production could be expanded, given specific soil and water quality objectives.
   
3. A multimedia WWW interface will be developed using HTML and common gateway interface protocol to provide a friendly site-analysis and modeling environment, as well as to make the decision support system publicly accessible.

Major Findings and Products

A GIS-based decision support system for evaluating the suitability of land areas within watersheds or counties for siting animal production facilities and for land application of animal waste. .

By combining information on soils, topography, land use and land cover, hydro-geological conditions, and other environmental and demographic factors with information on type, scale, and technology of the animal production enterprise, resource managers should be able to determine optimal land areas suitable for siting production facilities and for efficient land application of animal manure produced. The decision support system will provide resource planners, research scientists, and extension personnel with an effective tool to evaluate the economic and water quality implications of expansion in animal production in environmentally sensitive areas.

Principal Investigators: Chris Fulcher and Tony Prato

Project Manager: Chris Fulcher

Project Staff: Yan Z. Barnett

Funding Source: Multi-State Consortium on Animal Waste - A Collaborative Research/Demonstration Program

Funding Amount: $9,500

Project Duration: July 1, 1997 - June 30, 1999.