CAFO
abbreviation or noun
CA·FO
ˈkā-(ˌ)fō 
plural CAFOs
: a concentrated animal feeding operation
CAFOs are agricultural facilities that house and feed a large number of animals in a confined area for 45 days or more during any 12-month period.—
Cynthia Sewell
Cynthia SewellExamples of CAFO in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In Wisconsin, a CAFO generally refers to a livestock operation with 1,000 animal units, with animal units based on the weight of the animals, according to DHS.
—Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 9 Oct. 2025
Over 1,000 cattle or calf pairs also qualify as a large CAFO.
—Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 May 2025
In the 1990s, Cindy Watson — a Republican who represented a district of Eastern North Carolina in the state’s General Assembly — one day visited Elsie Herring at her home to learn about CAFO pollution.
—Kenny Torrella, Vox, 7 Feb. 2025
Bailey and other Nelsonville residents were profiled in a Wausau Daily Herald story in 2020 about their fears that manure from a CAFO about a mile from the small Portage County community was leaching nitrogen into their groundwater.
—Laura Schulte, Journal Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2024
At the facility—a concentrated animal-feeding operation, or CAFO—pregnant pigs were confined to gestation crates, metal enclosures so small that the sows could barely lie down.
—Elizabeth Barber, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2023
As the meat industry industrialized, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) became a large concern because of how animals were mistreated.
—Jon Stojan, USA TODAY, 6 Sep. 2023
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Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 9 Oct. 2025
Over 1,000 cattle or calf pairs also qualify as a large CAFO.
—Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 May 2025
In the 1990s, Cindy Watson — a Republican who represented a district of Eastern North Carolina in the state’s General Assembly — one day visited Elsie Herring at her home to learn about CAFO pollution.
—Kenny Torrella, Vox, 7 Feb. 2025
Bailey and other Nelsonville residents were profiled in a Wausau Daily Herald story in 2020 about their fears that manure from a CAFO about a mile from the small Portage County community was leaching nitrogen into their groundwater.
—Laura Schulte, Journal Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2024
At the facility—a concentrated animal-feeding operation, or CAFO—pregnant pigs were confined to gestation crates, metal enclosures so small that the sows could barely lie down.
—Elizabeth Barber, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2023
As the meat industry industrialized, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) became a large concern because of how animals were mistreated.
—Jon Stojan, USA TODAY, 6 Sep. 2023
Cite this Entry
“CAFO.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/CAFO. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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