Science-based Information on Manure Management Issues

Madison - With increasing scrutiny of the animal industry’s management of manures increasing, a group of agriculture educators and government agency experts have develop a new curriculum to help people understand manure management issues.

"National experts on manure management issues from land-grant universities, the Environmental Protection Agency and US Department of Agriculture developed the lessons specifically for the producer. This resource provides a comprehensive review with supporting recommendations for ensuring a farm’s environmental stewardship." according to Dave Kammel, UW-Madison/Extension specialist in biological systems engineering.

The Livestock and Poultry Environmental Stewardship curriculum has 26 lessons on how farmers can meet high environmental standards related to nutrient management, animal dietary strategies, manure storage and treatment, land application and outdoor air quality.

The curriculum will answer many producers’ questions:

-   What is a Phosphorus Index ?
-   How is odor measured?
-   What is the value of phytase in the diet of a monogastric animal?
-   Are new technologies for reducing odor available?
-   What issues should be reviewed in a manure storage inspection?
This curriculum also provides information about on-farm assessment tools and optional record keeping forms for a wide range of manure management topics.

In addition to the original 26 lessons in the curriculum, the development team recently released 24 fact sheets on the Environmental Protection Agency’s new Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) regulations. Each fact sheet addresses a common producer question about these regulations with a non-technical review of the regulations and recommendations for achieving compliance. Questions such as “Does my farm need an NPDES permit?” “What is the timeline for achieving compliance?” “Will I need a nutrient management plan?” get succinct amswers from a group of authors from the land grant universities and USDA.

The curriculum is available as a printed document or as a compact disk. The individual lessons and CAFO fact sheets can be reviewed, free of charge, at http://www.lpes.org. Copies of the CD and the printed document, as well as the CAFO fact sheets can be purchased from MWPS (MidWest Plan Service). Online ordering is available through the catalog section of the MWPS website at www.mwpshq.org or by phone at 1-800-562-3618.

Funded by the U.S. EPA's National Agriculture Assistance Center with program oversight through the USDA, the curriculum is intended to foster the voluntary achievement of environmental stewardship principles within the animal industry.

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