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by Annie Cunningham

The challenges of winter manure application may be behind us for the year, but scrutiny of farmers’ nutrient management practices is beginning to expand by all regulatory agencies.

Notably, Region 5 of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which includes Ohio, has even pushed for banning winter manure application because of the risks of run-off.

"With winter application, the risk of run-off is much higher than any other time in the year because of freezing and thawing," said Daved White, Ohio Farm Bureau’s director of commodity relations and executive director of the Ohio Livestock Coalition (OLC). "However, beyond winter application, there are many things to think about such as cracks or worm burrows in the field, the slope of the field and tiled fields. These conditions also can cause run-off that is going to pollute the creeks and streams."

Two things farmers should think about when preparing to apply manure to their fields are water quality and public perception of agriculture, White said. "If manure runs into the local stream, one, it’s going to affect the water quality and, two, it’s not going to bode well for neighbor relations and how the public views agriculture," he said.

Lack of manure storage often causes farmers to apply manure in the winter, and if that is the case, farmers and custom manure applicators should use extreme caution when doing so. Even farmers with more than adequate storage facilities need to apply manure in the winter because wet fall weather or other problems delayed application. With late winter’s extreme temperature fluctuations and sudden changes in weather patterns, manure application becomes even more risky.

"The overall goal in manure application is to get the nutrients into the soil where they are used by the crop and to keep them out of bodies of water," White said. "Adequate manure storage systems allow farmers to stockpile their nutrients until they need to fertilize the fields, and it allows them to plan when and where they spread the manure. Without adequate storage, farmers need to use more foresight and caution in dealing with application site challenges."

No matter when manure is applied to the fields, if run-off occurs, the landowner may be in violation of the state’s agricultural pollution abatement laws enforced by the Ohio Department of Natural Resourcs. Depending on the size of the operation, a violation also could require the landowner to seek coverage of the farm under the federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program’s rules for concentrated animal feeding operations, which Ohio EPA enforces.

These types of violations could be avoided by following standards established by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. USDA-NRCS revised its waste utilization standard 633, which includes recommended practices for manure application. As part of this revision process, additional criteria were added to the standard that deals specifically with application of manure to frozen or snow-covered soil. Livestock farmers and custom manure applicators should note that the standard does allow for winter application; however it is not recommended, particularly for operations that produce significant volumes of manure.

White said livestock farmers and custom manure applicators need to understand that by voluntarily complying with rules listed in USDA-NRCS’s standard 633 and other rules, they are helping themselves, their watershed and their community meet important water quality protection standards. In doing so, they retain flexibility and options for when and where they apply manure.

"Regardless of the time of year farmers are spreading manure, they need to use best management practices and make environmentally and economically sound decisions about their operations," White said.

To read more about USDA-NRCS’s standard 633 visit OLC’s Web site at www.ohiolivestock.org

CAPTION: Adequate storage is an important aspect of proper manure management and could prevent risky manure application in inclement weather.