# How do farmers dispose of a dead body? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 26, 2007, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525 "2007-01-26T03:49:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/21 "2007-01-26T08:37:42Z")
Hubby has a friend with a cow farm. Several times over the last few years he’s called Hubby to come dig a hole to bury bulls. Bulls are quite heavy. They use the backhoe. A working dairy farm is another matter. Cows are smart enough that they won’t use a pasture with a ‘cow grave’. Usually they called the knacker. ---
**Author:** ![scottkris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@scottkris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scottkris)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/22 "2007-01-26T08:41:40Z")
[QUOTE=Rico] Monty Python and the Cow Renderer: [/QUOTE] Peasant 1-“That’s the king!” Peasant 2-“How do you know he’s the king?” Peasant 1-“He hasn’t got shit all over him.” ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/23 "2007-01-26T08:44:10Z")
There always used to be (or at least seemed to be) lorries driving endlessly around the Northern Irish countryside with dead cows in the back, legs raised to heaven, poking over the top of the lorry. I just don’t see them any more, perhaps I’ve been in the city for too long. Memorably, we once gave a New Zealander a lift to catch her tour bus and had to take a detour down a country road. We ended up behind one of these lorries, oozing , um, ooze, out the back. Mum looked at me and said that we’d better not get too close, we knew what was in the back. The New Zealander leaned forward from the back seat and whispered anxiously, “Why? D’you think it might be terrorists?” :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/24 "2007-01-26T09:59:37Z")
[QUOTE=Pushkin] Memorably, we once gave a New Zealander a lift to catch her tour bus and had to take a detour down a country road. We ended up behind one of these lorries, oozing , um, ooze, out the back. Mum looked at me and said that we’d better not get too close, we knew what was in the back. The New Zealander leaned forward from the back seat and whispered anxiously, “Why? D’you think it might be terrorists?” :dubious: [/QUOTE] She must have been a city lass - knackers trucks are a pretty common sight in rural NZ, as is a bloated cow on the side of the road with it’s legs sticking up to the sky. That used to really annoy me when I cycled - after about a week you were looking for a new route to work (there wasn’t one ☹ ). In the absence of vultures and coyote (or anything else major) to eat carrion, farms usually have an offal pit for carcass disposal. However, the Resource Management Act pretty much precludes just digging a hole on the ground - you have to ensure that groundwater does not get contaminated, and the smell has to be managed as well. In the days of my youth (about 20 years ago) I used to go caving (spelunking). The caves were under a farming region, and some of the farmers would use a tomo (limestone sinkhole) as an offal pit. Sometimes sheep and cattle just fell in. So you may be pushing a new cave, head to the light and realise it stank of rotting flesh. Now some of the cavers I knew would and did push through rotting carcasses to explore the cave to it’s fullest extent - not me. That was turnabout time. You flagged the location and asked the farmer to use another hole, or fence it off if he didn’t know about it, and go back next summer. Of course, during something like a Foot-and-Mouth scare, herds of cattle are slaughtered, piled on to pyres with railway ties, soaked in napalm and torched. It stinks, looks appalling, and the mess of ashes are bulldozed into a pit. Si ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/25 "2007-01-26T17:53:27Z")
I just read the other day that roadkill is sometimes disposed of in a lye bath. The bath turns the carcass into a kind of goo. God knows what you do with said goo – flush it down the toilet, maybe? Anyway, is such a method ever used for cows? I don’t personally have that much lye lying around (ha!), but somebody might. ---
**Author:** ![Jimson\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@Jimson\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimson_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/26 "2007-01-26T18:05:37Z")
My parents own a small 70 acre farm in central Ohio. They raise sheep and live stock guardian dogs (Great Pyrenees actually and I’ve never seen them eat carrion like was mentioned above). They also had horses. The sheep were grown for wool and for meat. So the older breading rams and ewes were made in to sausages when they were put down. When the horses died (from old age one Arab made well past 30 years) they were buried. Most small farmers have smaller tractors (usually something along the lines of rebuilt Ford 9N). There are all kinds of attachments including front end loader and back hoe attachments. My father uses the tractor to dig a large hole then, scoop up the horse deposit him in said hole and backfill. Several of the dogs were buried this way as well. Great Pyres can get as big as 160 lbs. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/27 "2007-01-26T18:08:15Z")
I’ve heard of people throwing lime on dead things, but I don’t know why – speed up decay, hide the smell? I was at a friend’s place in the country a few years ago. There was a godawful stench in the air. He showed me a pit where the farm owner had tossed a dead pig. It was a wet summer, the pit had a foot of water, and the pig was stewing in the heat. Friend said the farmer could have been fined for that. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/28 "2007-01-26T18:09:01Z")
My dad is a chicken farmer, the dead chickens have been dumped into a dugout, shipped to a renderer, given to a local game farm to feed the lion and tigers, etc. etc. He is back to dumping into a dugout for dogs, coyotes, crows and magpies to feast upon. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/29 "2007-01-26T19:36:22Z")
Farmer John: Sorry Jr. Bad News: Old Porky has passed away. The Good News: We’re eating bacon tomorrow morning! ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/30 "2007-01-26T19:42:09Z")
I know of one case where the farmer just left dead cows in the creek. The Clean Water authorities are now speaking to him. ---
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/31 "2007-01-26T19:48:35Z")
> [@](#): > > VALLEY PROTEIN NATIONAL NUMBER - 1 -800-DEAD COW > VALLEY PROTEIN, INC. > 693 Wide Hollow Rd, East Earl, PA 17519 > Phone: 1-888-487-5262 or (717) 445-4202 Fax : (717) 445 - 6379 I do work for this facility. Believe me, you do not want to go up there on a 85+ degree day. 🙂 It would be a great place to film ‘Saw 4’. ---
**Author:** ![martymoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@martymoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/martymoose)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/32 "2007-01-26T20:06:07Z")
I used to live on a family farm with 67 horses, and still live nearby. If one dies, we dig a grave with our backhoe and bury it. It is always a very sad day. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/33 "2007-01-26T20:11:37Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] > [@V.bis and Baudhead](#): > > There are services that one can call to remove dead animals, generally to the local rendering plant. The one where I grew up could be reached at 1-800-DEAD-COW. My parents actually did have to call once. I can’t exactly explain why, but this struck me as hilarious. [/QUOTE] Me too, **Lissa**. I’m blaming the fact that I’m a city girl. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/34 "2007-01-26T20:14:23Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] A working dairy farm is another matter. Cows are smart enough that they won’t use a pasture with a ‘cow grave’. Usually they called the knacker. [/QUOTE] Really? This is fascinating. Do they smell the dead cow or something? Whoa. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/35 "2007-01-26T20:20:32Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] You call the local rendering plant and they pick it up. I don’t know what happens to the bodies after that. I assume they’re incinerated, since a sick animal can’t be used for feed. [/QUOTE] Oh no… I think they grind them up and cook the remains down to get grease out of them, which is subsequently used for soap and other inedible products that use animal fat, but don’t necessarily need it to be food-grade. > **[Rendering (animal products)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendering_(industrial))** > > Rendering is any process that converts waste animal tissue into stable, usable materials. Rendering can refer to any processing of animal products into more useful materials, or, more narrowly, to the rendering of whole animal fatty tissue into purified fats like lard or tallow. Rendering can be carried out on an industrial, farm, or kitchen scale. It can also be applied to non-animal products that are rendered down to pulp. The rendering process simultaneously dries the material and separates th... ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/36 "2007-01-26T20:45:25Z")
Small addition: When my kitty kicks the bucket I’ll just take her into the woods and bury her deep. With an unopened can of Tuna fish. Just to show somebody in the future I really cared for her. ☹ (This won’t happen for another ten years or so!) ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/37 "2007-01-26T20:50:34Z")
We used to just hook 'em up to the tractor and drag 'em into the woods. Vultures did the rest. “Buzzard’s gotta eat, same as worms.” - _Josey Wales_. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/38 "2007-01-26T20:58:08Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] Cows are smart enough that they won’t use a pasture with a ‘cow grave’. [/QUOTE] I grew up on a cattle farm, and never heard of such. I know several farmers who used to dig graves in their pastures with a backhoe and bury dead cattle. As to bovine intelligence, in my experience the average cow is not much smarter than the average carrot. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/39 "2007-01-26T20:58:33Z")
[QUOTE=Jake] Small addition: When my kitty kicks the bucket I’ll just take her into the woods and bury her deep. With an unopened can of Tuna fish. Just to show somebody in the future I really cared for her. ☹ (This won’t happen for another ten years or so!) [/QUOTE] They will probably just think that your cat starved to death in front of an unopened can of food! :eek: You could really mess with them by leaving a can opener in her paws. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525/40 "2007-01-26T20:59:59Z")
[QUOTE=Si Amigo] You could really mess with them by leaving a can opener in her paws. [/QUOTE] Genius! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-farmers-dispose-of-a-dead-body/389525.md?page=3)