FARM & HOME ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS

Farm*A*Syst/Home*A*Syst/Healthy Home/Ag EMS/WQPAAP

NEWS: Fall 2001

This quarterly electronic newsletter of FARM & HOME ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS is produced by the staff of the National Farm*A*Syst/Home*A*Syst office. The aim of this newsletter is to inform interested readers about voluntary pollution prevention programs around the nation and about new research and policy impacting the management of environmental risk on farms and in homes. We intend for this newsletter to be a forum for news and discussion about ongoing programs and new approaches. For more information, or to contribute to this newsletter, please refer to our website (http://www.uwex.edu/farmasyst), or email editor, Mrill Ingram, (mingram@facstaff.wisc.edu). We welcome comments and feedback!

USDA-CSREES, USDA-NRCS, and the U.S. EPA provide support for our programs.

Farm and Home Environmental Management Programs
Room 303 Hiram Smith Hall
1545 Observatory Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Phone: 608-262-0024
FAX: 608-265-2775
Websites:
http://www.uwex.edu/farmasyst
http://www.uwex.edu/AgEMS
http://www.uwex.edu/homeasyst
http://www.uwex.edu/healthyhome

• News from the National FAS/HAS Office
• HAS/FAS Impact Report Released
• EMS in Egg Production
• Utah Uses EMS in AFO Strategy

NOTES:

• North Carolina pursuing EMSs with pork producers
• Bush Administration promotes EMS
• Pennsylvania supports over 237 organizations to Grow Greener
• Environmental Assurance in Michigan

The National Farm*A*Syst/Home*A*Syst office is expanding in new directions with the support of the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and several new grant-funded projects:

1. An Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems grant, "Partnerships for Livestock Environmental Management Systems," is building off of Farm*A*Syst and the Livestock and Poultry Environmental Stewardship curriculum, to pilot livestock environmental management systems (EMS) that are consistent with the ISO 14001 international standard, and that can provide a powerful new tool to address livestock impacts on the environment. Speaking at a stakeholders' meeting for the use of EMS in livestock agriculture, Jim Horne of the US EPA asserted, "It is now a matter of EPA policy to strategically support the adoption of EMSs in particular sectors of the economy. In livestock agriculture [EMSs] ask organizations to inquire: 'What is the range of environmental impacts that my operation has? And what allows me to begin prioritizing?' It does not just look at regulatory impacts."

   The proceedings from the stakeholders' meeting, background information about the livestock EMS project and about EMS in general are available from the project website: http://www.uwex.edu/AgEMS/livestock. Also see, Livestock and Poultry Environmental Stewardship curriculum at http://www.LPES.org.

2. A new CSREES National Facilitation grant will support national pollution prevention networks. The project's focus includes:

   • Regular communication and planning among practitioners and researchers;
   • Improved methods for documenting and publicizing the outcomes of Water Quality Pollution Assessment and Prevention (WQPAAP) programming;
   • Broadening and strengthening the funding base for voluntary water pollution prevention activities;
   • Assisting WQPAAP programs in reducing negative impacts of agricultural practices on water quality through the development and implementation of agricultural Environmental Management Systems, (EMS); and
   • Synthesis and distribution of research findings that distinguish the environmental impacts of alternative agricultural practices on water quality.
   
   

3. The Healthy Home Program is developing new educational materials that focus on protecting children from environmental hazards around the home. These materials, based on Home*A*Syst, include an interactive web tool and a second edition of the handbook, Help Yourself to a Healthy Home. The webtool helps people identify environmental problems around the home by asking simple questions, and providing a personalized list of actions. Look for it soon. The handbook now covers topics including Pesticides, Hazardous Household Products, Water Quality, Lead, and Indoor Air Quality. The new version will cover Asthma and Allergies, Mold, Carbon Monoxide and Home Safety. To order a copy of the first edition in English or Spanish, call (608) 262-0024 or visit the Healthy Home Website at http://www.uwex.edu/healthyhome. For more information about the program, contact Program Manager Sarah Van Tiem at (608) 265-2774, svantiem@facstaff.wisc.edu. Healthy Home is a partnership program of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (http://www.hud.gov/offices/lead/healthyhomes_main.cfm), USDA-CSREES and EPA, and is based at the University of Wisconsin.

The National Farm*A*Syst/Home*A*Syst office has completed an impacts report for the years 1999 and 2000 revealing continued use and development of the programs. Over 86,438 assessments have been completed in 36 states and the Virgin Islands since the Farm*A*Syst program began. Innovative applications of the worksheet/fact sheet model around the U.S. have led to new programs and publications such as Stream*A*Syst in Oregon, Cotton*A*Syst in Georgia, Forest*A*Syst in North Carolina, Coast*A*Syst in South Carolina, Small Business*A*Syst in Alabama, and Living in the Mat-Su (the Matanuska/Susitna valley) in Alaska. More than 550 Farm*A*Syst / Home*A*Syst publications have been developed by different states. See the library for a complete list: http://www1.uwex.edu/ces/farmasyst/library/viewlibrary.cfm. Some highlighted activities include:

Minnesota. A multi-faceted marketing effort for Healthy Homes was launched to reach the public. Methods included distributing the booklet in home-buyer and tenant education programs, nutrition education, Head Start and Hispanic parenting programs. Healthy Homes was promoted through Extension newsletters, newspapers and radio shows. Many impacts of the program were reported, including:

• Fifty sets of cleaning supplies were distributed to low-resource householders who attended a program or had a home visit.
• Twenty-five families in Dakota County demonstrated behavior changes to improve indoor air quality.
• An educator used the material for an educational presentation at a local hospital on cleaning for reduction of allergies.

Oregon. In an effort to reach Hispanic residents in Marion County, a Bilingual Water Well Clinic was developed. In 2000 and early 2001, 21 clinics were held reaching over 800 rural households. Most clinic participants had their well water screened for nitrates and received an individual consultation on well water safety and groundwater protection. Nearly 500 households also had their water tested for coliform bacteria.
Tennessee. The state Home*A*Syst program office has been effective in documenting impacts. By Fall 1999, nearly 800 Tennessee households had completed the program. Over 90% of respondents to user surveys said the program increased their awareness of the impact of household activities on the environment and 85% said the program was useful.
Wisconsin. A group of farmers in Grant County conducted Farm*A*Syst assessments with staff supported by funds from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Forty-two participants completed a follow-up survey in which they reported their findings plus actions taken or planned. The highest risk areas identified were petroleum product storage, pesticide storage, and water well condition. Just over 26% of survey respondents invested in changes linked directly to their Farm*A*Syst experience, ranging from a $4 anti-siphon device (to protect well water) to $4,000 for a new septic system. Nearly all other respondents listed changes they still intended to make. Ninety percent said they found the program valuable and would recommend it to a neighbor.

by Ken Smith

Agricultural producers, policy makers, and environmentalists are all examining Environmental Management Systems (EMS) as a new approach to mitigating agricultural pollution and improving business performance. If the United Egg Producers (UEP) has its way, an EMS will be a regular part of managing egg operations. With increased focus by states on animal waste and new rules due from EPA in January, 2003 on what constitutes a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, most egg producers either are facing, or will soon face, regulatory attention. Dave Staples, president of the UEP, put it this way: "We looked at the regulations, the permitting processes required for large farms and medium size, and even small farms, and asked, 'How do we get a step ahead? '"

Staples worked to enroll the United Egg Producers in EPA's Project XL, which stands for "eXcellence and Leadership." EPA's Project XL is a "national pilot program that allows state and local governments, businesses and federal facilities to develop with EPA innovative strategies to test better or more cost-effective ways of achieving environmental and public health protection."

For the UEP, Project XL requires that egg producers develop an EMS for their operations. Staples piloted the program by developing an EMS for his own egg production operation, Creekwood Farms, located near Watertown WI. Staples notes that the project XL participation allowed him to write his own environmental management plan, giving him more control. He also notes that, "the EMS brought the involvement of multiple groups in helping us develop our plan, so that we are responsible for our community, responsible for our farm and the nutrient management."

Most egg producers are good environmental managers, Staples reminds us. But, he adds, "I hope that we'll have the majority of our producers participating in this program. If we do, we become a whole different industry in terms of our responsibility to the environment." The UEP's XL web page can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/projectxl/uep/index.htm

by Ken Smith

Utah -- wide open spaces, crop farms in the irrigated valleys, and maybe some sheep ranches in the foothills. The biggest environmental problem would be overgrazing, right? Wrong. Most of the state's agriculture and urban areas are crammed into a relatively narrow corridor down the center of the state. In that corridor, notes John Harrison, Extension Agricultural Waste Management Specialist at Utah State University in Logan, crop and livestock producers are running up against what he calls the "we got here second crowd." Urban expansion has led to conflicts with agriculture over odor and water quality.

In response to growing public concern, Harrison has been seeking to provide agricultural producers with strategies for reducing environmental risk, and with tools to demonstrate their commitment to the environment. He is promoting the adoption of Environmental Management Systems based on the ISO 14001 standard as an effective tool for reaching these goals. "I think we are now in a situation where the value of this systematic approach to managing business and environmental obligations will become more of a centerpiece for the way we approach things in the state," Harrison summarizes. "We still have a lot of selling to do, but people are coming to the realization that the temporary fix or temporary documentation is no longer going to satisfy the neighbor community or the regulatory community."

Harrison notes that many farms and ranches are already following management system frameworks such as the Dairy Herd Improvement Program, irrigation water management, feed management, and Integrated Pest Management. "All of these frameworks have similar elements to an EMS," he says. "What is required to implement an EMS may already be in place." For more information, visit the website at: http://extension.usu.edu/aems/what.htm.

NOTES

Nine North Carolina pork producers will begin developing Environmental Management Systems under grants awarded by the N.C. Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance. For more information on this program visit the agency website at: http://www.p2pays.org/iso/sector/pork.htm

In August, the EPA publicly released its "Action Plan for Promoting the Use of Environmental Management Systems (EMSs)." In conjunction with the release of the report, the White House's Council on Environmental Quality said that the Bush administration would like to see a major increase in the use of EMSs. You can find the report at: http://www.epa.gov/ems/emsactionplan.pdf.

Over 237 Pennsylvania organizations will receive funding from the state for watershed restoration, protection and education. Visit: http://www.GrowingGreener.org.

Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality, reports that the multi-agency Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) has 25 livestock operations enrolled in the pilot phase of on-farm environmental risk assessment. MAEAP plans to provide assessments for farmsteads and cropping practices as well as for livestock operations. Visit the website at: http://www.maeap.org.

© 2001 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System doing business as the division of Cooperative Extension of the University of Wisconsin-Extension. UW-Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming, including Title IX requirements. UW-Extension programs are open to all persons without regard to race, color, ethnic background, or economic circumstances. All rights reserved.

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