More in Manure Management

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack signed a renewed memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreement on April 25 that takes aim at reducing greenhouse gas emissions through construction of anaerobic digesters and other innovative methods to reduce products previously considered waste streams from dairy production, processing and handling....More

A federal court’s refusal to agree to a request by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to dismiss a case brought by West Virginia poultry farmer Lois Alt is being declared a victory for poultry and livestock farmers. Alt sued EPA challenging an agency order demanding that she obtain a Clean Water Act discharge permit for ordinary stormwater runoff from her farmyard, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, which supported the farmer in the case....More

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

University of Illinois researchers Yuanhui Zhang and Lance Schideman, both professors in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, have combined their research efforts to develop an innovative system that uses swine manure to produce biocrude oil, grow algal biomass, capture carbon, purify wastewater, and recycle nutrients. Zhang has spent more than a decade researching the conversion of swine manure and biomass into crude oil. Schideman has done significant research in the area of integrated algal systems for wastewater treatment and bioenergy production....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