Map of NY Factory Farm Locations (CAFO's) (New York, Oswego: how much, buying a home)

[edenresident]

Anyone thinking of buying a home in rural or even semi-rural New York should check out this map link from the DEC. There is massive expansion in the dairy industry and the map is outdated but it will give you an idea of what you are up against. Note that being miles away from a factory farm doesn't mean you are safe as they tanker truck liquid manure in 10,000 gallon tankers and dump it all over the fields for weeks at a time. Factory Farms have replaced the old days of cows grazing in the fields. You won't even see a cow near these places as they are all confined in huge open air barns packed together and standing in filth. They store the manure and cow urine in huge open air ponds called lagoons. Some of these sewer pits are over an acre in size and have millions of gallons in them.

Map of New York State CAFO Sites - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation

The map only shows Medium and Large Factory Farms but many of the small CAFOs are expanding and the number of huge CAFO's has greatly expanded.

Living near one of these filthy places is like living in a Third World country. Only those places smell better. Just so you know.

[Genevanative]

I live in rural Ontario County and there's several farms right nearby....does this site actually give the names of those factory farms? I would be interested in finding out which farms nearby qualify as 'factory farms', be it medium or large CAFOs.....

[edenresident]

Originally Posted by Genevanative

I live in rural Ontario County and there's several farms right nearby....does this site actually give the names of those factory farms? I would be interested in finding out which farms nearby qualify as 'factory farms', be it medium or large CAFOs.....

EWG || Farm Subsidy Database

You can search county by county on this link for the Farm Subsidy payments. They will list the farm and how much taxpayer cash payments they get each year. The largest dairy farms are usually in the top of the list. Then you have a farm name and the list of owners and how many dollars they get each year. If you see six figures or more, you can be assured it's a factory farm. You can research locations pretty easy once you have this info. Please note that just because a CAFO is small doesn't mean it will stay that way. Almost all of them are greatly expanding these days with contaminated run-off and massive manure spreading ruining many a rural town. It's horrible what's happening in rural NY.

[artyst]

thanks for posting that link edenresident. this is very depressing. i was planning on moving to upstate ny but i'd never heard of CAFO's until reading this forum and now i'm very saddened. who's great idea was it to allow so many of these awful places? can they be stopped?? i don't want to reconsider my move to ny! but i might

[edenresident]

Originally Posted by artyst

thanks for posting that link edenresident. this is very depressing. i was planning on moving to upstate ny but i'd never heard of CAFO's until reading this forum and now i'm very saddened. who's great idea was it to allow so many of these awful places? can they be stopped?? i don't want to reconsider my move to ny! but i might

Eliot Spitzer is a huge proponent of the CAFO Factory Farming method and recently pushed $30,000,000 additional state tax dollars for expansion funding. It's part of his revitalize rural NY program. It's also the reason why he wanted drivers licenses for illegals because most of these factory farm employ illegals and the Farm Bureau lobbys hard for it. Nobody wants to work in a place that smells like a Third World country except those from the Third World. The Finger Lakes and Western NY are the worst areas but there are many other areas getting pretty bad. Anywhere you see an ethanol plant in NY is sure to have many factory farms near it as the byproduct of Ethanol is low grade cattle feed. It's a total disgrace. Check out http:FactoryFarm.org for some photos of what these places look like and what it's like to live near one.

[honeychrome]

The notion that providing big subsidies (and regulatory exemptions) to promote CAFO expansion will spur any kind of economic revitalization is utterly ridiculous. By design these concentrated operations eliminate labor, and thus jobs.

We are trading the health of our environment, our livestock, ourselves and our children for ever more cheap food. Until more people start to put their money where their mouths are and ante up the extra money for food that is produced in a sustainable and responsible manner we're going to see more and bigger CAFO operations with the environmental damage and health effects they bring with them.

[vicarian]

That's odd, I wonder why Oswego County doesn't have any major CAFOs? It's surrounded by counties with large numbers of CAFOS, so that's why I'm wondering.

[edenresident]

Originally Posted by vicarian

That's odd, I wonder why Oswego County doesn't have any major CAFOs? It's surrounded by counties with large numbers of CAFOS, so that's why I'm wondering.

Don't worry. They'll be coming soon. If you want to check, you can call or FOIL the NYSDEC Division of Water for info on CAFO's in your county. They can tell you if any exisiting or more importantly new CAFO permits have been issued. You can also take a drive around Oswego county and look for new construction at long dormant dairy farms or small dairy farms. If you see the steel shed warehouse type barns being built, a hundred yards long, then you can be assured it's a factory farm being built. Another sure sign are new silos going up. If you have an Ethanol plant anywhere near you, factory farms are sure to follow as the byproduct of ethanol is low grade dairy cow feed. Pig CAFO's are also sneaking into NY as there is a moratorium on expanding them in Southern states. It's a gamble buying a house in an agricultural zone these days as the Factory Farmers hide behind the Right to Farm laws and use them as an excuse to pollute the waterways and wells with overspreading of manure. They also bring in swarms of illegal aliens who drain local resources by going on public assistance. It's a mess living around one of these places in more ways than one.

[bellafinzi]

Originally Posted by vicarian

That's odd, I wonder why Oswego County doesn't have any major CAFOs? It's surrounded by counties with large numbers of CAFOS, so that's why I'm wondering.

I was thinking the same thing.

Most likely it's because Oswego County is mostly forest.

[itSmellsBAD]

There's also a lack of CAFO's around the Catskills area. The reason for this is because the Catskills provide the drinking water for New York City via huge dams and underground viaducts. NYC bought up much of the land around the watershed in the Catskills to protect the water supply from contaminated farm runoff (manure spreading and pesticides).

The NYSDEC actually enforces Clean Water regulations in this part of NYS. The rest of us, those with contaminated well water, are not so lucky and are left to fend for ourselves. The DEC looks the other way in regards to farm contamination issues in western NY.