In order to be considered a Confined Animal Feeding Operation in Missouri, the facility and practices used must meet certain requirements.

"The state statutes currently have specific regulations that require buffer distances between the confined barn, the lagoon and a near occupied home," said Darrick Steen from the Department of Natural Resources.

The regulations go on to ensure that land applications of waste are done in a proper way. There's set-back requirements to streams, and set-back requirements to wells and other sensitive features. But even with stringent regulations already in place, Missouri's rules don't meet all of the EPA requirements.

"There are current regulations that they have on the books that Missouri hasn't adopted," Steen said.

DNR said there are three main changes the state must make to meet all EPA standards, the main one dealing with nutrient management plans. A special task force is in place to ensure these changes are made.

"When we have a Confined Animal Feeding Operation that is permitted, as a condition of that permit, they must have a nutrient management plan," said Rex Ricketts, an MU commercial ag director. "So contained in that nutrient management plan, is a list of all of the land that manure will be applied to." 

"We're requiring more detailed information for nutrient management plans, but we're also something new. We haven't required in the past is that they take a look at the phosphorus on their farm," Steen said. "And so they'll be required to do a phosphorus assessment of the field their land applying manure on to ensure there's not a phosphorus loss off the field to streams. In some cases they may restrict the amount of manure they can use as fertilizer."

Although one family farmer does view Missouri's CAFO regulations as stringent, she thinks the nutrient management plan is a good idea.

"The waste from our animals is inside our building and what we do is flush it away like you would in your household with a toilet. And when it comes out of our barns it comes to our lagoons which is where we store it," said Chris Chinn of Chinn farms. "We properly manage our lagoon according to DNR rules and regulations. And we inject the nutrients from the lagoon into the soil as natural fertilizer." 

And with fertilizer costs continuing to rise Chinn says this will save farmers money.

"There was a recent study done that by using the affluent from a hog farm," said Chinn. "A farmer could save up to 31-3% in nitrogen costs, the chemical nitrogen costs." 

"This is the ultimate recycling program because we use manure to fertilize plants, and we fertilize those plants, and we grow and we harvest those them and we feed those plants back to the animals, and then we recycle it again," said Ricketts.

Some people complain that smell is an issue with these livestock operations, but Chinn says that's not the case. That's why they built their house only 150 yards away from their operation. 

"You know there are going to be days when you do smell it, but you expect that when you live in the country," said Chinn. "But you're not going to smell it 7 days a week, 365 days a year."

Pollution is also another issue surrounding CAFOs. But DNR regulates these type of operations, including the lagoons, to ensure nothing enters the watershed.

We got dozens of emails and many phone calls about part one of our CAFO story, which aired Monday.  Many of the comments were positive, but we also heard from representatives of the Missouri Rural Crisis Center. Rhonda Perry of the MRCC thinks CAFOs infringe on the property rights of neighbors, because of the smell and other environmental impacts of CAFOs. Perry said CAFOs also lower property values in their neighborhoods.

And cut down on competition, putting family producers at a disadvantage.

Rex Ricketts actually did a study on CAFOs and their environmental impact.