(KMAland) — Iowa has the highest number of hog farms and the sixth-highest number of cattle feedlots in the country, according to a new study from the University of Michigan.
Researchers mapped large cattle and pig farms, finding Iowa hosts almost more than 2,100 pig animal feeding operations, known as AFOs. The state also hosts 604 cattle AFOs.
Sanaz Chamanara, now a researcher at the University of California-Santa Barbara, who led the study while at Michigan, said air pollution measures 11% worse in areas near pig AFOs and 28% higher near cattle AFOs, specifically particles measuring 2.5 micrometers…