The average Vermont dairy farm has only 88 cows. 4 But many farms deeply in debt are under growing economic pressure to expand their herds. While Vermont lags behind the rest of the country in the trend toward giant livestock feedlots, environmentalists and family farmers in the state fear that mega-sized dairy farms and encroaching animal factories could have a devastating effect on the environment and their way of life. Every year 496 tons of phosphorus are dumped into Lake Champlain fueling excessive algae growth and threatening the health of the lake. One manifestation of farming's pollution impact is the contamination of Lake Champlain with an oversupply of phosphorus, which is found in animal manure and fertilizers.
Agricultural activities are the main source of phosphorus pollution in the lake.
The Champlain Basin watershed is suffering from severe phosphorus contamination. In growing portions of scenic Lake Champlain, phosphorus-fueled algae are choking off the oxygen supply upon which fish depend for survival. Algae scum in the lake's most polluted sections is so thick that about half the year boaters have trouble pushing their boats into the water and swimmers and fishermen are forced away. In 1996, Vermont, New York and Quebec signed an accord, the Lake Champlain Basin Clean Up Plan, committing to a major clean-up of Lake Champlain. The cooperative plan was the result of six years of discussion among officials from the two states, the Canadian province and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.