By Tabitha Evans Moore | Editor & Publisher
LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — Every month in Moore County, a farmer — despite their best efforts — loses an animal. Whether cattle, horses, hogs, sheep, or goats, disposing of dead livestock is not just an unpleasant task. In Tennessee, it is a regulated environmental and public health issue.
State guidance classifies deceased farm animals as solid waste, with producers encouraged to dispose of carcasses through approved methods — including burial, composting, incineration, or landfilling — generally within 48 hours to prevent disease, groundwater contamination, and other risks. For farmers, those requirements don’t disappear just because an animal dies unexpectedly.
That regulatory reality is why the County Dead Stock Removal Program has long served as a quiet but essential piece of rural infrastructure in Moore County.
A service that made compliance possible
For years, the South Central Tennessee Development District (SCTDD) has coordinated the County Dead Stock Removal Program across what is now a 15-county region, including Moore County. The program does not replace Tennessee law — it helps farmers comply with it.
By coordinating licensed contractors to pick up large animal carcasses, the program assists producers who lack the heavy equipment, labor, or space needed for burial or composting, particularly when animals are too large to handle safely or quickly. Even farms that lose stock only occasionally can face sudden, significant costs during already stressful circumstances such as extreme weather, illness, or calving complications.
Unless a new agreement can be reached, SCTDD will no longer coordinate the service for its member counties after June 30, placing Moore County’s participation — and future costs — in jeopardy.
Not the first time the program has been at risk
This is not the first-time dead stock removal services in Middle Tennessee have faced disruption.
In 2010, the Food and Drug Administration notified Griffin Industries — which had provided dead stock removal and rendering services in the region for more than 65 years — that cattle carcasses could no longer be rendered for ruminant feed. The decision followed concerns related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, after reported cases in Canada and Washington state.
In response, 10 counties — including Moore, Bedford, Coffee, Franklin, Giles, Lawrence, Lincoln, Marshall, and Rutherford — entered into contracts to continue dead stock removal through Middle Point Landfill in Murfreesboro. County costs were prorated based on historical livestock data previously used by Griffin Industries and offset by both state and federal dollars.
In 2019, the program shifted providers again, with All Around Underground, Inc. taking over contractor duties.
{Editor’s Note: To see our coverage of that 2019 change, click here.}
Funding pressures and rising local costs
Today, the dead stock removal program operates at an estimated $600,000 annually for the entire SCTDD region, according to Moore County Mayor Sloan Stewart. That cost has historically been split among federal funding, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, and participating local governments.
Moore County’s share is prorated based on livestock counts. The expense appears under the County General budget, with approximately $19,000 budgeted for the current fiscal year. If the SCTDD-coordinated service goes away, officials say that line item could potentially triple or the service could go away entirely.
Importantly, the program is not a statewide mandate and is not directly administered by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. Instead, it is a regional service facilitated by SCTDD, relying on a patchwork of federal and state grants alongside local cost-sharing.
During the most recent budget cycle, USDA officials opted not to continue contributing funding, leaving the state and participating counties to absorb the remaining costs.
What comes next ?
Despite the uncertainty, county officials say discussions are ongoing. Mayor Stewart said that based on feedback from himself and other city and county mayors across 11 affected counties, Agriculture Commissioner Andy Holt and SCTDD officials plan to meet in the coming months to explore possible solutions.
For now, farmers remain caught between regulatory obligations that have not changed and the potential loss of a service that made meeting those obligations practical — underscoring how quickly the strain of rural infrastructure gaps can fall back onto individual producers.
This is an ongoing story and The Times will follow up once there is new information. •
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