Financing Aspects Of Investments For Pollution Abatement On Michigan Dairy Farms

In recent years the condition of our physical environment has become an area of increasing public concern. This concern has manifested itself in the form of legislated rules, formulated and administered by public agencies at the local, state, and federal levels, designed to control the use and degradation of the environment in a manner consistent with societal goals and objectives. Of the forms of environmental degradation pollution of the air and waters has received particular attention. Agriculture has a number of sources or potential sources of pollution. These include: (1) human wastes from the farm (human) population; (2) crop residues; (3) food processing wastes; (4) dead animals; (5) agricultural chemical residues; and (6) animal wastes. Controlling or abating pollution often requires an investment in equipment or other facilities. The financing of investments for abatement of livestock wastes on dairy farms is the topic of this study.