A group of Illinois farmers and farm organizations has released the results of a yearlong study conducted to determine the true impact of livestock farms on Illinois.

Their determination? Livestock operations are good for Illinois, and the Livestock Management Facilities Act is working.

“When you hear that Illinois agriculture is not regulated, that’s simply not true,” says Illinois Farm Bureau’s Mark Gebhards, who helped develop the LMFA in 1996 when he was executive director at the Illinois Pork Producers Association. The LMFA has come under increased criticism the past couple of years, with legislators asking to reopen the act for possible revision.

“There’s a vocal minority pointing to a small number of problems,” Gebhards says, adding that agencies including the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Illinois EPA, Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Illinois Attorney General’s office all help regulate state livestock facilities. On the federal level, the U.S. EPA, Natural Resources Conservation Service and USDA are additional regulatory bodies.

Gebhards says since the LMFA was written in 1996, manure discharge complaints to the Illinois EPA regarding livestock farms have decreased consistently, down to an all-time low of 24 in 2017.

Craig Finke, a dairy farmer from Nashville, Ill., says under the LMFA, he’s attained a nearly zero percent discharge rate from facilities.

“We have to prove to consumers that we’re not discharging into our community,” he says, adding that they use manure to fertilize crop fields.

Good for community?
Brian Duncan, Polo, Ill., hog farmer and vice president of the Illinois Farm Bureau, says Illinois livestock farmers invested $68 million in construction costs for new or expanding livestock farms in 2017 alone.

“The great economic recovery in Illinois will begin on the farm,” he adds.

The report shared that livestock creates demand for corn and soybeans, to the tune of 112 million bushels of corn and 36 million bushels of beans.

Mike Haag, Emington, Ill., raises 17,000 weaner pigs with his family, and is president of the Illinois Pork Producers.

“Our No. 1 goal in agriculture is to bring the next generation back,” he says. “And to do that, we have to leave things better. We’re looking out for our environment, and we want to minimize our footprint.”

The full 2018 Illinois Livestock Report can be found at ilfb.org/livestocktruth.