More in Environment

If it helps to visualize it, the nutrient management plan (NMP) can be arranged along three tracks: the “three P’s” of plan, performance and protection....More

As pork production has expanded in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, significant efforts and resources have been expended by pork producers and public and private sectors to develop and implement new manure management technology. These efforts have produced options for producers that vary in complexity and cost as well as objectively determined success....More

Your farm’s manure storage structure (s) and land application equipment are critical to your production system. Like any other piece of equipment, they require regular attention to prolong their useful life, maintain efficiency, prevent environmental issues, prevent animal and human health problems from developing and keep the neighbors happy. That attention extends through all stages, from storage to pumping equipment to land application....More

A new Virginia Tech publication provides tips for successful manure injection in no-till and pasture systems. The publication features a multi-state author team and discusses equipment types and residue, sediment, phosphorus and nitrogen losses, and odors, economics and carbon....More

The Iowa Manure Management Action Group (IMMAG) offers suggestions to help calm producers’ nerves and provide practical information to help prepare for a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) inspection. Ken Hessenius, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says even though many producers will initially respond to the news that they are about to be visited/inspected by an environmental specialist from the DNR with panic and a strong desire to go into hiding, such inspections need not be something to dread. He suggests that producers look at the inspection as an opportunity to interact with the DNR official and work toward improving the environmental performance of the facility. “Visits or inspections from the DNR can be an important tool for you to use in the overall management of your farm,” Hessenius says....More

A spokesperson for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) told the Brownfield Network that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) attempt to recall the CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation) information it provided to environmental groups “is a little too late”....More

  Animal agriculture has become concentrated in many parts of the country with multiple operations in an area; each feeding large numbers of livestock, according to Wendy Powers and associates, Michigan State University Extension. With this consolidation has come concern over human health impacts of exposures to odors and gases associated with livestock production, including manure storage and land application of manure to croplands....More

This week during The Ag Minute, guest host Rep. Ted Yoho, (R-FL) discusses a recent development where the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released sensitive information about livestock and poultry farmers. Reports indicate that the EPA did not review the data to determine if it included confidential business information protected by federal privacy laws or withheld for national security concerns....More

Randy Spronk, newly elected National Pork Producers Council president, says the U.S. Pork Industry believes that Gina McCarthy, President Barack Obama's nominee to be the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency could overhaul the organization, resulting in a better relationship with the pork industry....More

A research team at the University of Guelph has developed a new line of transgenic “Enviropigs.” The new line of pigs is called the Cassie line, and it is known for passing genes on more reliably than a previous genetic line. Enviropigs have genetically modified salivary glands, which help them digest phosphorus in feedstuffs and subsequently excrete less phosphorus into the environment....More

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey recently announced that the Iowa’s Soil Conservation Committee Research and Demonstration Fund has assistance available to support research or education/demonstration projects that explore sustainable agriculture and projects focused on reducing nonpoint pollution....More