Regulations Affecting Manure Application

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Regulations Affecting Manure
Application

• Kevin Erb, UW-Extension
• Environmental Resources Center (ERC)
• Ted Bay, UW-Extension Grant County
• Jerry Clark, UW-Ext. Chippewa County
• Carla Hargrave, UW-Ext. Green Lake County

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Why Is Manure Regulated?

• 1972 Clean Water Act
• Goal
• All streams/lakes fishable and swimmable by
  1990.
• 1972-1990 Focus on major sources (point sources)
  such as factories, sewage treatment plants, etc.
• Non-point source is now the focus

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How is Manure Regulated?

• Nutrient Management Plans
• Permit Requirements
• DNR Permitted Farms

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What is a Nutrient Management Plan?

• A strategy to maximize the return from
• on-farm manure
• commercial fertilizers
• minimize threats to water quality.
• Must meet the criteria contained in the
  USDA-NRCS Nutrient Management Standard - 590.

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Who Needs a Nutrient Management Plan?

• All farms by 2008 who apply manure or commercial
  fertilizer
• Must be offered 70 cost-share.

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Who should have a Nutrient Management Plan
currently?

• Farms that have received cost sharing for
• Manure storage
• Nutrient Management
• Local ordnances requiring a plan
• Farms over 1000 animal units WPDES permit (CAFO)
  
• Notice of discharge (NOD)
• Farmland preservation tax credit program

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Nutrient Management Plan-Required Components
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Farm Nutrient Management PlanAlice and John
Farmer Prepared by Jane Planner, CCA Iowa
County, WI J. Planner Inc. Crop production
year October 2004 - September 2005Summary of A
and J Farmer FarmCropland (manure spreadable
acres) 191 owned 20 acres 1st-year
corn (following alfalfa)59 rented 112 acres
Corn following corn 250 acres total 33 acres
Alfalfa seeding with oats 85 acres Alfalfa
(established) 250 acres total
Livestock Dairy cattle and
replacements (average daily number on the farm
for the year) 86 Lactating Holstein dairy
cows 25 Dry Holstein dairy cows 55 Replacement
heifers (average 500 lbs)Estimated annual
manure collected for land application 3,028 tons
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Soil Test Reports and Recommendations
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Soil Conservation Plan
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• Map Id for
• Soil types/Slopes
• Slope , 2nd capital letter of the soil symbol
• A 0-2
• B 3-6
• C 6-12
• D gt 12
• Field boundaries
• Field ID
• Acreage

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Nutrient application prohibition and restriction
areas
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Nutrient Crediting
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Current years proposed nutrient and soil
amendment application rates including the form,
rate, and timing for commercial fertilizers and
manure
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• Manure Information Sheet (inventory)
• Species
• Age group
• head

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Review of NM Plans

• 2 main items you need
• Manure rates for each field
• Maps
• Restricted spreading areas
• Reason for restricted areas
• Setbacks
• Field boundaries

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Types of Nutrient Management

• Nitrogen Based
• Manure rate capped at crops nitrogen need
• 120-160 units of N
• 200 ft setback from streams for surface
  application
• 75 P on frozen/snow covered ground
• Used for state and county programs
• Will be phased out over next few years

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Types of Nutrient Management

• Phosphorus Based
• Goal is to reduce phosphorus losses
• Rates guided by either
• Soil Test P Levels
• P Index (risk of erosion loss calculated by
  computer)
• 300 ft setback from streams/1,000 ft from lakes
• Used for federal programs

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What if the farmer wants a higher rate?

• FOLLOW THE PLAN!!!
• Or
• Contact the person who wrote it
• WPDES permitted farm are NOT allowed the 20
  adjustment

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What if rates are too high for soil conditions?

• You have the authority to apply less
• Split applications1/2 now later
• Call the plan writer for their advice

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Regulations Impacting YOUR Job

• Federal
• State
• County
• Township

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Federal Regulations

• Permitted Farms
• Declared any farm gt1,000 Animal Units (AU) to be
  a Point Source (WPDES, CAFO farms)
• Must get a permit to operate
• In Wisconsin, DNR handles the program

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WPDES Permit Farms

• 5 year Permit
• Farm (and sometimes field-specific) details on
  how manure can be applied, timing, incorporation,
  etc.
• Are subject to additional setbacks and
  application restriction
• Recordkeeping requirements (rate, date, weather,
  wind, etc.)
• Regular, timely submission to DNR (daily to
  quarterly)
• EVERY Load must be tracked
• Requirements vary by farm, will become uniform as
  permits expire
• Open records by state law

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WPDES Permit Farms

• Unique aspects
• NO 20 OVERAGE allowed
• Manure storage on permit farms can not fill to
  within 1 foot of total capacity (12 inches
  freeboard always required)

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WPDES Permit Farms

• Assigned a regional Animal Waste Specialist
• Field staff in various locations around state.
• Better to have a positive working relationship
  rather than a negative one.

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TheFarm Challenge
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Nutrient Application PROHIBITION AREAS

• ANY TIME DURING THE YEAR
• Concentrated flow channels with established
  vegetative cover
• Vegetative buffer areas
• Non-farmed wetlands
• Land where established
• vegetation is not harvested
• Area within 50 ft of a well

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Nutrient Application PROHIBITION AREAS

• ANY TIME DURING THE YEAR
• Within 200 upslope of direct conduits to
  groundwater, unless incorporated within 3 days
• Wells
• Sinkholes
• Fractured bedrock at the surface
• Gravel/sand pits

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Sinkholes
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Nutrient Application PROHIBITION AREAS

• When FROZEN SOILS prevent incorporation at
  application, do not apply nutrients
• Within the surface water quality management
  (SWQMA) areas (1000 of lakes, 300 of perennial
  streams)

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Nutrient Application PROHIBITION AREAS

• When FROZEN SOILS prevent incorporation, do not
  apply nutrients
• On slopes gt9
• (can apply manure on slopes up to
• 12 where cropland is contoured
• or contour strip cropped)

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Nutrient Application Restrictions

• Incorporate manure and organic byproducts when
  applied within 200 upslope of wells, sinkholes,
  fractured bedrock at the surface and gravel pits

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Nutrient Application Restrictions

• On frozen soils apply manure P2O5 so as not to
  exceed current years crop removal and limit
  liquid manure applications to 7,000 gallons/acre

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Nutrient Application Restrictions

• Vegetative cover must be established in all areas
  of concentrated flow.

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Nutrient Application RestrictionsNon-frozen
soils within a SWQMA

• No liquid manure (lt12 solids) applications on
  saturated soils!

• Use one or more of the following practices
• Establish maintain permanent vegetative buffers
• Maintain 30 crop cover on soil surface after
  application
• Incorporate nutrients within 72 hours
• Cover crop established promptly following
  application

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Application Restrictions Table 1. Maximum Rates
of Unincorporated Liquid Manure Applied on
Non-frozen soils within a SWQMA
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• Limit available N applications on high
  permeability soils, or soils with less than 20
  inches to bedrock, or soils with less than 12
  inches to apparent groundwater
• 50ºF or less in the Fall
• Limit available manure N to 120 lbs/A
• Greater than 50ºF in the Fall (pick one)
• Limit available manure N to 120 lbs./A
  nitrification inhibitor
• Limit manure applications to crop N need or 120
  lbs. ac on perennial or fall seeded crops
• Limit available manure N to 90 lbs. / ac apply
• after Sept. 15th

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County Regulations

• Most counties have some type of regulation
• Usually tied to manure storage/design
• Some have permit requirements for feedlots
• Nutrient Management is almost always included.

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Townships

• Can use authority or allow county to regulate
• Best Friend or Worst Enemy of your client

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Zoning for livestock facilities

• Can regulate new and expanding livestock
  operations
• Within any ag zoning district,
• Require conditional use permits for larger
  operations
• Establish setbacks from natural and man-made
  features
• Impose environmental standards and practices

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Road regulation - Townships

• Impose special weight limits on roads under
  s.349.16
• Protects against road damage from overweight
  vehicles serving livestock operations

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Road regulation - Townships

• Issue permits to allow certain overweight
  vehicles access to restricted roads if vehicle
  owners provide financial assurances for road
  damage
• Include permit condition to maintain road free of
  debris

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Liability for Manure Applications

• 3 parties that have liability exposure for
  surface or groundwater contamination by manure.
  1 Farmer2 - Crop consultant (who wrote the
  NMP)3 - Manure applicator

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Summary

• USDA now has a P based standard
• All plans written for federal programs use P
  based
• All plans written for state programs/county
  ordinances use N based
• State will switch to P based within a few years.

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Which farms are required to haveNutrient
Management Plans?

• Farms gt1,000 Animal Units
• Farms under a county ordinance
• Farms that accepted cost sharing for
• Manure Storage
• Barnyards
• DNR Notice of Discharge
• Farmland Preservation
• Farms under township Conditional Use Permit

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Thank You