Question

Maintaining dairy cattle in a CAFO requires large quantities of water and produces vast quantities of wastewater and manure. The increasing number of CAFO dairies in eastern New Mexico and West Texas is contributing to significant groundwater contamination and the depletion of the Ogallala aquifer. Consider a CAFO with 1,000 dairy cows and answer the following questions.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average dairy cow produces 55 kg of wet manure daily. How many metric tons would this dairy produce each day (1,000 kg = 1 metric ton)?

Answer 1

A CAFO with 1,000 dairy cows would generate 55 metric tons of manure each day, calculated by multiplying the daily output per cow by the total number of cows.

Step-by-step explanation:

The CAFO with 1,000 dairy cows would produce 55 metric tons of wet manure daily.

Each cow produces 55 kg of manure daily, which for 1,000 cows totals 55,000 kg. Since 1,000 kg equals 1 metric ton, the daily manure production from this CAFO would be 55 metric tons. This computation is critical for addressing environmental concerns and resource management, like the impact on the Ogallala aquifer mentioned in the context of the question.

The average dairy cow produces 55 kg of wet manure daily. To convert this to metric tons, we need to divide by 1,000 since 1 metric ton is equal to 1,000 kg. So, the dairy would produce 55 kg / 1,000 = 0.055 metric tons of wet manure each day.