Livestock and poultry breeding pollution control: the breakthrough path from "ecological burden" to "green treasure"

The meat, eggs, and milk on the dining table nourish the lives of billions of people. However, behind the rapid development of large-scale farming, an "invisible burden" is quietly increasing - pollution from livestock and poultry farming. It is not only one of the main sources of pollution affecting China's water, gas, and soil environment, but also a key bottleneck restricting the green development of agriculture.
1、 A shocking 'ecological burden'
China is the world's largest producer of livestock and poultry: the production of pigs, broiler chickens, and laying hens ranks first in the world, while beef and dairy cows rank third. With the soaring proportion of large-scale aquaculture, the amount of manure produced has also sharply increased, becoming an important source of water, soil, and air pollution. How much pollution is there? The COD concentration of aquaculture wastewater is as high as 5000-30000mg/L, ammonia nitrogen 500-2000mg/L, and total phosphorus 60-200mg/L, far exceeding urban domestic sewage.
In 2017, the COD emissions from agricultural sources reached 10.6713 million tons, accounting for 49.77% of the total COD emissions in the country; The proportion of total nitrogen and total phosphorus reached 51.30% and 46.52%, respectively.
Agricultural pollution has become the primary factor threatening drinking water safety, and livestock and poultry farming is its biggest contributor. Where is the problem? Despite years of ongoing governance efforts, chronic illnesses still persist
Separation of farming and animal husbandry: The intensive farming areas are disconnected from farmland, and the "last mile" of returning manure to the field is difficult to connect. Outdated technology: a large amount of water flushing and soaking manure are used, resulting in a large amount and high concentration of sewage. Policy deficiency: Biogas power generation and Organic Fertilizer production lack policy support equivalent to fertilizers and energy. Weak awareness: Farmers generally have a "wait and rely" mentality and lack the motivation to actively control pollution. Weak supervision: violations such as facility construction without use, illegal discharge at night, and diluted discharge continue to be repeatedly prohibited. Lack of standards: Mandatory standards such as harmless treatment of manure, limited return to farmland, and storage facilities urgently need to be improved.
2、 Governance dilemma under multiple challenges
The challenges are not limited to this, and the triple pressure is driving the industry to accelerate transformation: 1. Consumption upgrading, increasing scale without reducing population growth, and the trend of "protein based" diets are driving the continuous increase in livestock and poultry farming. From 1981 to 2018, the consumption of animal based food by urban residents doubled, and the pressure of future manure treatment will only increase and not decrease. 2. The disconnect between planting and breeding, the heavy resistance to returning manure to the field, and the scattered planting caused by household contract farming, long-term dependence on fertilizers, and rising labor costs in rural areas have greatly reduced the economic viability of returning manure to the field. 3. With stricter standards and high costs, ammonia emissions have become an important precursor to smog - agricultural ammonia emissions account for about 90% of total emissions in China, and annual emissions from animal husbandry exceed 4.8 million tons. On March 1, 2026, the "Technical Guidelines for Accounting Ammonia Emissions from Large scale Livestock and Poultry Farms" were officially implemented, and ammonia and odor control became hard constraints. However, the cost and stability of sewage standard discharge technology are high, and professional operation and maintenance teams are scarce, making it difficult for aquaculture profits to support the high investment in pollution control.
3、 The way to break through: from "end of pipe governance" to "resource utilization"
The old approach of "end of pipe treatment" has high costs and poor effectiveness, while the new direction is the full chain resource utilization of "source reduction process control end of pipe utilization". Three major utilization paths: Fertilization: returning to the field after harmless treatment, replacing chemical fertilizers, and enhancing soil fertility. Energy conversion: producing biogas, generating electricity, or purifying biogas. Feed based: Used for aquaculture or insect protein farming. Key control point: Dry cleaning of manure and separation of rainwater and sewage are adopted at the source to reduce the amount of pollutants produced. The storage facilities should meet the demand during the non fertilization period, with a volume that matches the planting cycle. Transport vehicles (pipelines, vehicles) ensure smooth delivery of manure to the fields. Strictly match the application amount with crop demand and soil carrying capacity to prevent secondary pollution. Policy indicator: The direction of national encouragement has shifted from "standard emissions" to "resource utilization". In the future, there will be more emphasis on refined management: improving the standards for harmless products of manure, limiting the amount of farmland returned, strengthening environmental impact monitoring, and gradually introducing standards for the emission of aquaculture waste gas. Agricultural emissions reduction and Carbon Reduction will also become an important battlefield for achieving carbon neutrality. Enterprise power: In this green transformation, enterprises are key practitioners. Guogangtong Group is deeply engaged in the field of harmless treatment and resource utilization of livestock and poultry manure, and is using technological innovation to break through the bottleneck of the combination of planting and breeding
Transforming manure into organic fertilizers, biogas and other products to eliminate pollution from the source. Build an ecological loop of "breeding manure treatment planting breeding" to promote regional balance between planting and breeding. Provide replicable solutions for large-scale aquaculture farms to support rural revitalization and the "dual carbon" goal.
4、 Future Trends and Personal Reflections
In the future, the prevention and control of pollution in livestock and poultry farming will present the following trends: stricter and more scientific requirements, more standardized management, increased law enforcement efforts, and gradually standardized requirements for source water control, rainwater and sewage separation, and dry wet separation. Refined management becomes a key focus: the harmless treatment of manure and product standards will be more sound, and the standards for returning farmland and environmental impact monitoring will be more accurate. Control of aquaculture waste gas emissions: Relevant standards and policies will be gradually introduced. Collaborative promotion of emission reduction and carbon reduction: Against the backdrop of green development in agriculture, the agricultural industry will become an important contributor to achieving carbon neutrality in China. Personal reflection: The agricultural production mode will undergo a revolutionary change, and modern technology will be fully applied. Livestock and poultry breeding pollution is a prominent issue in future ecological environment protection work, which must be actively addressed. The difficulty of governance is high, and a systematic approach (source reduction, recycling, and end of pipe treatment) must be adopted to explore technology models that are tailored to local conditions. The synergy between emission reduction and carbon reduction is the future direction of development. Strengthening the integration of planting and breeding is an inevitable requirement for ensuring food security, reducing energy consumption, and preventing environmental risks. Large scale aquaculture enterprises should deeply implement the combination of industry, academia, and research, create demonstration points for circular industries and ecological farms, and lead the healthy development of the industry.
The pollution control of livestock and poultry breeding is not only a tough battle, but also a protracted one. Only by adhering to the direction of resource utilization, strengthening technological innovation, and improving policy standards can we achieve a win-win situation for the development of animal husbandry and ecological environment protection. Guogangtong Group is willing to work together with all sectors to promote the resource utilization of livestock and poultry manure, and contribute to the green and high-quality development of agriculture!