My Amish neighbor's cow must have dropped dead for some reason out in the field...Its pretty far from our house but we can see it from our upstairs window.. saw the cow's body an hour ago. Now I see the guy went to it w/his 'poop' wagon and just shovelled manure on top of the cow.

so there is a 'mound' ..& to me the guy probably thinks he's being sneaky & no one will know there is a dead cow under there. But maybe this is 'kosher'? I honestly don't know. I've seen them drag dead calves way out in the field and I know the vultures get to them. Is this legal? Am I wrong to be concerned ? We have a well and all.

I'd like some input.

Spay, think there is a problem now with disposing of dead farm animals. Company that use to pick up dead animals stopped this service because of mad cow disease. When they render the animal they have to remove the brain and maybe some of the organs. They had a story awhile back that this would become a problem.

I mean ..I atleast wish there'd have been some effort to dig a hole...I know the cow is big and heavy! and if they'd atleast put some sawdust on top to absorb the moisture...I am just worried about our well water. Not trying to cause trouble even tho sometimes they drive me nuts. But Im concerned.

a facebook friend who has horses just told me that manure will help that cow decompose 'in no time'. I hope she is right. Maybe the Amish neighbors know that. They've probably done this before and today is just the lst day I witness it!!! I feel a little better..but would still like to hear from some Lancaster TBers...so many seem to have a wealth of info under their belts when it comes to matters such as this! :-P

Valley Proteins is over in Terre Hill.

Way too late for a cookout, I'd bet.

thank you for that.

We hauled ours to the renderer, in the late 80's early 90's. I'm pretty sure they know what to do with it, but are either negligent or waiting to borrow a skip loader to take care of it. They might be hoping no one noticed. I know powdered garden lime helps the decomposition hasten along. I do hope it is not near his well or a stream. Yuck.

There was an article in the Lancaster Farming a few weeks ago about a new company who is in the business of composting large animals. They put the animals in large bins mix the right components with heat and water and it is surprising how quickly the animals composted. Hopefully your neighbor knows what he is doing.

This might help.

http://www.milkproduction.com/Library/Arti...Mortalities.htm

If they have not stopped already Valley protein will soon no longer take livestock over a certain age because of regulations concerning BSE disease. Farmers are encouraged to compost their large animals on the farm as a safe environmentally friendly way of disposal. Just throwing manure on top of the animal will most likely not work very well. You need at least 2 feet of carbon material all around the animal in order to get the heat level high enough to decompose the animal. Manure can be used but it works better if you have a good amount of straw bedding or wood chips mixed in. Location is also important since there should not be a potential for run off to a stream.

Burying and burning are also legal ways of disposing animals but again location is important to not cause an environmental problem.

Or you could get yourself one of the newest generation directed energy weapons from Spookworks. Just 'shine' that carcass and your worries will melt away. After that, you could use it to keep those kids off the lawn. That's Spookworks. Keeping us safe from ourselves since 1968.

How far away and how deep is your well???? Shallow well could be a problem. Deep one, soil etc. should filter run-off. Do you test your well each year?

I used to pass a farmer that thought the proper method of disposing dead cows was to dump them by the tracks. Probably tried to get the RR claim agents to pay for it, too. Was entertaining to watch the things blow up like a balloon. Then one day.. they would deflate.

Whoo-whee did those things have some stink, though...

In all seriousness, if this farmer does things this way then many others may do it the same way as well. Is it legal or safe?

Spaylady have you contacted the Pa. Dept. of Agriculture to ask them or to be directed to the proper department that deals with these matters? It could either set your mind at ease regarding your well etc. or it could alert them that this has taken place and they might look into this for your health and safety as well as others.

It is legal, if done correctly.

http://www.dep.state.pa.us/DEP/DEPutate/Wa...-IIC-Keener.pdf

I knew a farmer who would light them suckers on fire. Gross but seemed to work.

I did make some phone calls and have the number to the Dept of Ag if I want to persue this further. Seems he's kind of doing a 'sloppy' job of something that is in fact legal. I could opt to report them to the Dept of Ag, they could send someone over to educate him (he will not be fined or anything but given a warning that if he does this again 'in the wrong way' he will get the book thrown at him. It was admitted that he'd be apt to just drag a cow 'out of sight' & do it again his way anyway. An Amish woman I work with said many ppl in her family just drag dead animals in the woods and let them rot. To save the $35 to $45 fee it costs.

I called an environmental org who did inform me my neighbors burning of their silage bags is improper. (they do this too and burn just about all their trash ............no 'trash day'/pick up for them.

Im still left beside myself whether to persue this or not. Simply said, it seems my plain sect neighbors do what they want.

I really don't think there will in any run off TO our well directly but Im just concerned in general for others' wells . The ignorance astounds me sometimes.

Thanks for all your input on this. My mind HAS been put at ease somewhat . I am told the cow will decompose swiftly w/the nitrogen from the manure on top...in 3 months we will never know it was there. GLAD ITS NOT HUMID. UGH.

I envy the amount of time you have on your hands.

We have plain neighbors who routinely burn their trash and let their trash blow all over creation. Never mind that it's illegal to burn trash in this borough, and if you call the police there is major foot dragging over getting anything done about it. They have their own rules, I suppose.

Now if I burned trash in the backyard, nothing less of a SWAT unit would probably show up ordering me to cease and desist.

don't. I really don't.

And if that was a smug remark...I really wanted to know. We are homeowners w/our own well.
It really doesn't take that much to start looking and seeking out answers. How else can you find things out?

So much for 'if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all..."




You got it.