Factory Farms in Pennsylvania
Factory Farms in Pennsylvania
Factory Farms in Pennsylvania
O ver the last two decades, small- and medium-scale livestock farms have given
way to factory farms that confine thousands of cows, hogs and chickens in
tightly packed facilities. In Pennsylvania, there were 998,000 hogs, 35,300 beef cattle,
54,600 dairy cows and 25.5 million chickens on the largest operations in 2007,
according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture. Pennsylvania
ranks fifth in the nation in factory-farmed egg-laying hens.
Dairy
In recent decades, small- and mid-sized dairy farms disap-
peared and were replaced by factory-farmed dairies that
now dominate milk production. Between 1997 and 2007,
the United States lost 52,000 dairy farms — about 5,000
farms every year.1
Poultry
Chicken meat comes from billions of chickens raised on
large-scale broiler chicken operations where farmers raise
birds on contract for the few poultry processing companies
that dominate the industry. The scale of poultry farms has
grown rapidly, as growers try to eke out a living by increas-
ing the volume of birds they produce. Pennsylvania has
increased its factory-farmed broiler chickens by more than
80 percent in 10 years, adding 4.7 million broilers between
1997 and 2007, 4 million of which were added between
2002 and 2007. In 2007, Pennsylvania had a total of 10.4
million broiler chickens on factory farms.
Eggs
Take action: Go to www.factoryfarmmap.org to learn more
Almost all eggs are produced on large-scale operations with about factory farms in Illinois and to take action to stop the
hundreds of thousands of layer hens in each facility. A hand- spread of factory farms.
ful of egg companies produce a large proportion of the eggs
most Americans eat. In 2009, the four largest firms owned
30.2 percent of the laying hens in production.3 Egg produc-
tion is concentrated in only a few states. Nearly half the Endnotes
hens in 2007 were located in the top five states. Pennsylva-
1 USDA NASS. Agricultural Statistics Database. Accessed August 5,
nia is the fifth-largest producer of factory-farmed eggs, with 2008. Available at http://www.nass.usda.gov/QuickStats; MacDon-
15.2 million layers on the largest farms in 2007. The average ald, James M. and William D. McBride. USDA ERS. “The Transfor-
size of a Pennsylvania factory-farmed egg facility rose 75 mation of U.S. Livestock Agriculture: Scale, Efficiency, and Risks.”
percent between 1997 and 2007 to almost 372,000 birds. EIB-43. January 2009; Miller, James J. and Don P. Blayney. USDA,
ERS. “Dairy Backgrounder.” (LDP-M-145-01). July 2006 at 7.
2 USDA NASS. Agricultural Statistics Database.
Factory farms cause extensive environmental damage and 3 Dr. Shane, Simon. “2008 Egg Industry Survey.” Watt Egg Industry.
leave communities with fewer independent family farms, Vol. 114, No. 3. March 2009.
unsafe water, reduced air quality and depressed economies.
Instead of benefitting, consumers face foodborne illness
outbreaks and public health threats like antibiotic-resistant
bacteria, and fewer real choices about how their food is
produced.
For more information:
Congress, regulatory agencies and state goverments need to
web: www.foodandwaterwatch.org
put a stop to the policies that have allowed these facilities
email: info@fwwatch.org
to proliferate. They must create and enforce farm and food
phone: (202) 683-2500 (DC) • (415) 293-9900 (CA)
policies that allow farmers to make a living and do not
harm communities, the environment or public health.
Copyright © February 2011 Food & Water Watch