Animal Production Mortalities Emergency Procedures - PUB1250

This fact sheet contains guidance for addressing high animal-mortality incidents caused by unplanned events such as floods, tornadoes or other natural disasters, power outages, fires, spread of disease, market interruptions and other circumstances that can impact animal production facilities.

During a disaster, the highest priority is protection of human life, health and safety. As soon as the immediate threat is over, animal producers must address the disaster’s effects on their animals and property. Live animals should be provided humane treatment and dead animals must be disposed of in compliance with state law.

Preplanning

Preplanning for disasters can save time and money during an already stressful period. Important preplanning steps include the following.

• Contact local landfills and understand their animal disposal policies.
• Identify suitable composting or burial locations on your property or that are available locally.
• Identify rendering plants, or incinerators that may accept animal carcasses.
• Become familiar with state animal disposal laws, by reviewing Chapter 269 Disposal of Dead Animals or calling the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Division of Animal Health at 573-751-3377.

More details on these steps are included below.

Estimating Site Damage

As soon as safely possible after an event, view the site and make written estimates and a photographic record of the damage. This will help in talking to agencies and organizations and making cleanup plans. Identify the following, where applicable:

• Number of animals originally on-site.
• Approximate number and size (weight) of dead animals.
• Uninjured animals and their needs for food, water and protection.
• Animals that remain unaccounted.
• Condition of confinement buildings or enclosures.

Cleanup

Move to safety and find housing for uninjured animals either on your property or with the help of your integrator company. Contact your county USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service office, usually located in the county seat, to determine what assistance is available.

Permitted concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) must continue to meet the operational and no-discharge permit requirements. Contact the appropriate regional office to discuss any site-specific concerns or compliance issues.

Dispose of dead animals within 24 hours of death by the most practical means available among the following. This list is in order of desirability with rendering being most desirable and burial least desirable:

• Processing at a rendering plant. Call 573-751-3377 to request information about licensed companies. Some integrator companies have their own rendering in conjunction with processing plants.
• Composting as recommended by University of Missouri Extension (links provided below).
• Landfill disposal. Call the landfill first to determine whether it accepts large quantities of dead animals. For a complete listing of landfills, call the Department of Natural Resources’ Waste Management Program at 800-361-4827 or 573-751-5401 to obtain phone numbers of landfills in the area.
• Pre-existing University of Missouri Extension service-designed agricultural incinerator or Department of Natural Resources-permitted commercial incinerator.
• On-site burial following guidelines outlined in the Disposal of Dead Animals law.

Compost and Burial Site Selection

Prior to on-site burial, contact the departments’ Missouri Geological Survey (MGS) for locating appropriate burial sites on your farm. This service is provided at no cost and can be conducted for emergency planning purposes, or during an actual emergency. You may contact the MGS at 573-368-2100 or, after business hours, the department’s Environmental Emergency Response hotline at 573-634-2436.

The local USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service office has information about soil types and thickness, and can provide soil map unit data and interpretation reports including ratings for animal burial suitability.

Do not bury or compost animals in sinkholes, ravines, caves, mines, low-lying areas subject to flooding, ditches or at the base of a hill. Follow the state law setback distances, using the greatest applicable distance. These setbacks apply also to features on neighboring properties:

• 100 feet from surface water, such as ponds, streams and lakes.
• 300 feet from springs, losing streams, wells (including unused and abandoned wells), neighboring residences, surface drinking water intakes and public water supply lakes.
• 50 feet from property lines.

Drawing a diagram of the property showing all applicable setbacks will help define areas acceptable for composting or burial. Add neighboring property features requiring setbacks and ask questions of the landowners, if needed. Draw a line or radius showing the setback distance from these features on the neighbors’ properties on the property diagram and eliminate these areas from consideration.

Target the highest elevations and flatter areas of the property. A topographic map may be helpful. Flat to gently sloping upland areas are most desirable. For example, a flat area atop a ridge is preferred because it is generally farthest from sensitive water features.

Choose clay-textured soils, including heavier silty clay loam, clay loam, sandy clay, silty clay and clay. Soils with sandy textures or large amounts of gravel are not desirable. Burial sites should have at least 2 feet of clay-textured soil material beneath the trench. Look for the areas of the property that have the deepest soil but avoid flood-prone areas. A 6-foot deep trench requires 8 feet of soil depth and a 4-foot deep trench requires 6 feet of soil depth. If a 6-foot deep trench would expose bedrock everywhere on the property, a shallower trench of 3- to 4-feet depth may be necessary. In this case, a single layer of large animals could be deposited in the trench.

Emergency Composting Structures

An empty litter stacking shed makes a good temporary composter. If no suitable shed is available, construct emergency carcass composting units with the following in mind:

• Composting can be done in long windrow piles or in bins constructed of hay bales, according to the convenience of available materials and site considerations. A convenient width of bins or windrows for ease of equipment use is 10 to 12 feet. But other widths may be used. Typical heights of piles or bins is 6 to 10 feet.
• Start the compost piles or bins with a 2-foot thick base layer of bulking material, such as sawdust, wood chips, leaves, straw, hay or silage to absorb odors and liquids.
• Place carcasses in layers separated by 6-inch layers of bulking material. Dry poultry litter may be used in inner layers as a bulking material, if available. Large animal carcasses should be splayed when placed to help with bloating and eruption that can damage the pile. In dry conditions, wetting the layers during placement is advised to provide proper moisture conditions for composting.
• Cap the pile or bin with a 2-foot layer of bulking material.
• Design composters with berms or other features capable of containing all runoff.

A properly constructed compost pile will not attract vectors or scavengers, will be odor free, will not ooze decomposition liquids and will kill pathogens. The composting process takes eight to 12 weeks. The process will convert the animal carcasses and bulking material into a beneficial soil amendment.

Further guidance for building composting units according to University of Missouri Extension service and U.S. Department of Agriculture designs is available at:

• Composting Dead Swine
• Composting Livestock 2017 Livestock Mortality Composting Protocol

Burial Guidelines

The Dead Animal Disposal Law states:

• Trenches shall be no deeper than 6 feet and not located in a low-lying areas subject to flooding.
• Cover the carcasses immediately with a minimum of 6 inches of soil and mound the final cover soil to at least 30 inches thick.
• Pierce body cavities of animals that are more than 150 pounds as they are placed to minimize bloating.

The guidelines below are suggestions and recommended practices to follow in order to protect the quality of the groundwater and surface water supplies of the state. Substitutions are allowable and alternative practices are permissible. It is encouraged to contact the Missouri Geological Survey for assistance.

• If soil thickness is inadequate for a 6-foot deep trench, leave at least 2 feet of clay-textured soil in the floor of the trench and limit the total depth of the trench.
• Keep the bottom of trenches as flat as possible. Slope one end of the trench, if necessary to allow vehicular access for placing carcasses.
• If the site is sloping, run the trench across the slope to minimize the probability of erosion.
• Make the uphill side of the trench no more than 6 feet deep and the downhill side less than 6 feet.
• To prevent trench sides from collapsing, slope or bench any excavation face more than 4 feet high and take any other necessary safety precautions.
• If an underground void, such as a sinkhole, rock crevice, cave or manmade chamber such as a cistern is encountered while digging, try to avoid that area.
• Place carcasses to within about 1 foot of the surface.
• Place the stockpiled topsoil over the mounded trench area, pack the cover material by running heavy equipment over it several times, and seed it with a perennial grass as soon as possible. This will prevent erosion and will help promote runoff from infiltrating.

Contact the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Division of Animal Health or the Missouri Department of Natural Resources for further assistance.

Helpful Contacts

• Your integrator company. If applicable, these companies may be helpful in capturing live animals and finding locations where these animals may be relocated.
• The Department of Agriculture’s State Veterinarian’s Office. Call 573-751-3377, particularly if buildings are unsafe to enter, which might make it difficult to comply with the state statute regarding disposal in a timely manner, or for situations that require disposal of large numbers of animals.
• Your Department of Natural Resources regional office for questions. Call 800-361-4827 to find out which regional office serves your area. After business hours, call the department’s Environmental Emergency Response hotline at 573-634-2436.
• The departments’ Missouri Geological Survey at 573-368-2100 for assistance on site selection for on-site burial.  
• Your county sheriff or other law authorities. They can assist in protecting animals and belongings.