Purdue News

December 4, 1998 Purdue urges livestock producers to attend animal waste session WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- While a federal proposal to regulate animal waste initially targets the nation's largest livestock producers, eventually all of Indiana's 38,000 livestock producers could fall under the provisions. The EPA-USDA Draft Unified National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations will likely expand the number of regulated producers sevenfold from the 3,000 operations covered under current rules. "While nearly 20,000 large livestock producers in the country will be mandated to be included under the provisions, the goal of the program is to have every livestock operation in the country voluntarily complying with some of the rules as written by the federal regulators," said Al Sutton, an animal waste specialist in the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service. "Smaller operations with a poor track record of environmental stewardship or those located in sensitive watersheds also will be folded in under the regulations." Sutton said the strategy's goal of protecting ground and surface water can't be questioned, but how that goal is reached will require considerable discussion. USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service is holding a public presentation and "listening session" on the strategy at 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10, at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Indianapolis. State and federal agency personnel and congressional representatives will attend the session. The objective is to hear the views of livestock producers before final decisions are made, according to EPA officials. Purdue Cooperative Extension Director Hank Wadsworth will moderate the session, and Purdue agricultural engineer Don Jones will join a technical panel. Jones and Sutton have spent the last year working on state animal waste rules with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. Sutton said he's concerned that some producers may get the two efforts confused. He said it appears that the national rules may affect more animal producers than the draft state rules. "First off, the level of certification is different. Under the federal proposal, anybody who handles and field applies manure may have to be certified, or hire someone who is," Sutton said. "Consultants also would play a bigger role in farm operations." A cornerstone of the unified strategy is the call for comprehensive nutrient management plans, which would cover feeding, manure handling and storage, land application, record keeping and any other waste handling procedures. While Indiana asks producers to draw up plans for manure disposal, the federal rule would allow only certified individuals such as crop consultants and federal agency staff to draw up the plans. The consultants also would be responsible for checking implementation. One of the goals of the federal plan is to encourage all animal-feeding operations to comply with the requirement. "By the year 2008, up to 300,000 animal feeding operations are expected to comply with the rules either by law or voluntarily for the cost-share assistance, according to the strategy," Sutton said. The unified strategy also will use a phosphorus measurement to limit how much manure can be applied to farmland. While that will cause much more dislocation in states with sandy soils such as North Carolina, some Indiana operations will have to reduce operations or find additional land base, especially in the counties with several hundred livestock operations. Indiana currently uses a nitrogen standard to judge the manure-carrying capacity of soil. One as-yet-unanswered question is what kind of financial help independent producers and small family farms could get to implement some of the changes. The federal agencies have said some financial aid will be essential for smaller operations, but the issue has not been decided. "An attempt to regulate the largest animal operations could end up driving the smallest out of business," Sutton said. Another part of the regulatory dilemma is the vagueness of the rules at this point, Sutton said. "Producers need to familiarize themselves with the intentions and scope of the unified strategy," Sutton said. "Spending a few hours in Indy on Dec. 10 may be a very wise business move." Registration for the listening session begins at 3 p.m., and the program will start at 3:30 p.m. with an overview of the draft unified strategy and the Clean Water Action Plan. Audience comments and technical questions will be taken from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Source: Al Sutton, (765) 494-8012; e-mail, asutton@ansc.purdue.edu Writer: Chris Sigurdson, (765) 494-8415; home, (765) 497-2433; e-mail, sig@ecn.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu