Paul Doton urges his Holsteins into the milking parlor on his farm in Barnard. Photo by James M. Patterson/Copyright Valley News
An early start to winter is causing manure storage problems for dairy farmers trying to comply with required agricultural practices.
The state Agency of Agriculture has given permission to 66 farmers and eight manure applicators to spread manure on snow — a practice that is ordinarily banned, said Ryan Patch, deputy director of water quality for the agency.
Dairy farmers have a limited window of time for manure spreading after the fall harvest and before the Dec. 15 winter spreading ban. The ban, which lasts until April 1, has been in effect for decades. But the 2016 overhaul of on-farm water quality practices under the state’s Clean Water Act put further restrictions on manure spreading.
Farmers are now prohibited from spreading manure on frozen or snow-covered fields as manure cannot percolate through the soil properly and could more easily runoff. Spreading manure on “saturated” fields where it could runoff into adjacent ditches, streams or other bodies of water is also forbidden.
This fall, dairy farmers in much of Vermont have had to contend with both soggy and frozen fields in short succession. After a drought that lasted into October in some parts of the state, many farmers saw above average rainfall after harvest and had to wait until their fields dried to spread manure, according to Patch.
The cold weather and record-breaking snowfall this November left some farmers with limited options for spreading manure, and increasingly full storage areas, before the winter ban goes into effect.
“What we’re dealing with is farmers that have had waste storage facilities that have been filling up since the middle of the summer, waiting for the corn to come off,” said Patch. “It’s honestly the worst fall for farming and getting these storages unloaded.”
Dairy farmers that receive permission from the Agency of Ag to spread manure on snowy fields have to take additional precautions, such as only spreading manure on flat fields and leaving wider setbacks from streams, said Patch. Farmers are are not granted an exemption unless they have manure storage areas that could overflow and are still required to ensure that manure does not runoff their fields.
Patch said his department has fielded roughly 30 calls from members of the public concerned about manure being spread on snow. In most cases, people had not actually seen manure running off fields. Agency staff have been doing spot checks on manure application and looked into four complaints of manure flowing off fields, he said.
“If anyone does see manure running off, we go out and investigate,” said Patch.
Farmers seeking to spread manure after the Dec. 15 ban would have to apply for an “emergency exemption” be submitting a written plan that would have to be approved by the agency, he said.
Paul Doton, who operates a Barnard dairy farm with 70 milkers, said he has faced challenges this fall.
“We got 20 inches of snow and our manure storage is almost filling up,” he said.
Doton was able to spread some manure earlier in the fall on his farm but has also had to stack frozen manure to prevent his normal storage from filling up. While he has not been spreading manure on his snowy fields, he said he knows some nearby farmers who have sought permission to do that.
The new required agricultural practices have not been burdensome for Doton, who said he has had a nutrient management plan for 30 years and has fewer required practices as the owner of a small farm.
He said communication between farmers and the agency has been improving, which he feels is key to reducing agricultural water quality problems.
“I think most everyone tries to make sure they don’t pollute,” he added.
Source: vtdigger.org
