HB 559: CAFO clean-up fund -2022

The Idaho Dairymen’s Association introduced a measure that would carve off an estimated $5 million from the Agricultural Best Management Practices Fund for projects to address water quality and waste management on Idaho’s dairy farms.

There are over 700,000 dairy cows across the state, with the majority in the Magic Valley. Altogether they produce over 80 million pounds of manure daily.

This bill would make funds available to Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) that were not eligible for the funds in the past. The funding would allow investments to better manage the waste stream from dairy and beef feedlots and could also address air quality and climate change by funding digesters, which capture methane emissions before they foul the air. Payments from the CAFO fund would have to be matched with at least 40% of the costs from other sources.