Colorado Ag Regulations

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Colorado Ag Regulations
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• Agriculture regulations can be broke into two
  very broad categories.

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• Livestock Regulations
• Livestock regulations deal with the removal and
  application of animal feces.
• Farm/Chemical Regulations
• Farm chemical regulations deal with the
  application and storage of herbicides,
  pesticides, fertilizers, and insecticides.

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How do I if my operation is required to follow
these regulations?

• Livestock
• AFO (Animal Feeding Operations)
• A confined animal operation that produces meat,
  milk, or eggs.
• Animals are confined for more than 45 days in 12
  months
• Crop ground is not sustained in the area of
  production
• All AFOs that are located near a water source
  that may be used for human consumption are
  considered a CAFO

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Livestock Continued

• CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation)
• A confined animal operation that produces meat,
  milk, or eggs
• They house more than
• 1,000 feeder cattle
• 700 mature dairy cattle(dry or milking)
• 2,500 feeder swine ( over 55 pounds)
• 500 horses
• 10,000 sheep or lambs
• 55,000 turkys
• 100,000 laying hens

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What are the requirements for AFOs and CAFOs?

• AFOs
• Protect surface water, groundwater, and soil
  resources through best management practices
• Best Management Practices
• using adequate manure and wastewater storage
• using efficient land application practices

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Requirements cont.

• CAFOs
• Prohibited from discharging manure or wastewater
  in to any Colorado waters
• Manure- includes litter, bedding, and waste feed
• The only exception to this law is a 25-year,
  24-hour storm
• Management practices should include
• earthen storage structures made of low permeable
  materials (clay) ex. Lagoon
• formed storage tanks made of wood, steel, or
  concrete

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Land Application of Manure

• Any new facility that plans on applying manure
  must submit a land application plan
• Application rate should not exceed the soil
  infiltration rate
• There should be no application of manure when the
  ground is frozen, full saturated, or during
  rainfall, if the application site may result in
  runoff into a waterway

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Farm/Chemical

• Colorado regulates the registration, labeling,
  transportation, distribution, storage, commercial
  application, and disposal of pesticides and
  fertilizers.
• This regulation is done through three acts the
  Pesticide Act, the Pesticide Applicators Act,
  and the Colorado Chemigation Act

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Colorado Pesticide Act

• Regulates the registration, labeling,
  transportation, distribution, storage, use, and
  disposal of pesticides
• All pesticides and pesticide devices must be
  registered
• A restricted-use pesticide dealer must obtain a
  pesticide dealer license
• Producers who limit their handling of pesticides
  to field mixing and loading do not need to be
  concerned with the rules that deal with pesticide
  storage facilities

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Colorado Pesticide Applicators Act

• Regulates the persons that apply pesticides
• There are several different classifications
• Commercial Applicator-business is applying
  pesticides, must keep 3 years of specific records
• Limited commercial applicator-applies chemicals
  on their own land or that land of their employer,
  not required to have a license, but must keep 3
  year of records
• These regulations do not apply to a person who is
  applying pesticides for the production of
  agricultural products on his/her own or rent
  property, or someone who is an employee of that
  person

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Colorado Chemigation Act

• Chemigation is a type of irrigation that
  incorporates chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides,
  herbicides, and insecticides) by mixing water
  with these chemicals in a closed irrigation
  system.
• A closed irrigation system is a combination of
  devices such as pipe, hose, or other conduit that
  directly attaches to the ground water or surface
  water source
• An agriculture producer is required to obtain a
  permit for this type of irrigation and
  application system

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Nonpoint Source Pollution

• A result of a rainfall or snow melting event that
  picks up and carries away pollutants
• This pollution may end up in a Colorado waterway

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Summary

• You should be more familiar with laws that are
  required for agriculture producers in regards to
  the environment