Spreading the Word

There has been a great deal of attention paid to the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay, but due to the overwhelming amount of information and proposals many folks are understandably confused as to what is really going to happen and what they will be expected to do.

Here in Lancaster County, we have been under the gun for decades now, but the new Executive Order and TMDL have upped the anti on what will be expected of farmers and suburbanites in the county.  However, what these new regulations might mean and what they might look like in the future is difficult to determine.  However, it is clear the stricture water quality regulations will be in place and I'm working with local feed companies to update their farmer clientele on where the regulations stand now and what might happen in the future.  Although it isn't possible to answer all the questions I'm getting about this issue, I'm finding the many farmers are eager to gain a better understanding of what these regulations might mean to them. 

Farmers in Lancaster County are generally well read and aware of the issues facing due to the attention the county has received in the past, but the attention has been heightened recently with EPA targeting eight watersheds in the county and going door-to-door within those watersheds.  This prospect can be very daunting to an unprepared farmer, but hopefully by working with them we can help them be more prepared for these visits.  The Lancaster County Conservation District is doing a great job of bridging the gap between local farmers and EPA and I applaud their efforts. 

I encourage others to get involved and help educate not just farmers, but the general public about what they will be asked to do.  If you have any strategies that are working well for you in the area of watershed education please share.

Upcoming Water Webinars

The Water Resources team at Penn State University is hosting monthly webinars on water quality and quantity concerns.  More information and registration can be found at http://water.cas.psu.edu/webinars.htm  There is no cost, but registration is required.  To participate in the webinars a Penn State or "Friends of Penn State" account (directions on how to obtain found on above link) and a computer with access to the internet are needed.  All webinars will air at 12:00 pm and 7:00 pm on the listed days. The following is a list of dates and topics through May 2010.

• January 27, 2010 - Water Testing and Monitoring Strategies Near Gas Drilling Activity, Present by Bryan Swistock, Penn State University.  Strategies to monitor water wells, springs, and streams in areas where gas well drilling is occurring will be covered.
• February 24, 2010 - Saving Money and Your Septic System Through Water Conservation, Presented by Tom McCarty, Penn State Cooperative Extension, Cumberland County.  Tips on how to reduce water use in and around your home to save money on energy and water bills while also reducing the stress on your septic system.
• March 31, 2010 - Managing Your Pond and Lake, Presented by Susan Boser, Penn State Cooperative Extension, Beaver County.  Assessing pond and lake structures, testing water quality, identifying and managing aquatic plants, managing wildlife and fisheries.
• April 28, 2010 - Safe Drinking Water Clinic, Presented by Peter Wulfhorst, Penn Sate Cooperative Extension, Pike County.  How to construct and maintain your private water well, spring or cistern to ensure safe drinking water quality including water testing strategies and water treatment methods.
• May 26, 2010 - Managing Your On-Lot Septic System, Presented by Dana Rizzo, Penn State Cooperative Extension, Westmoreland County.  Proper strategies to locate, construct, and maintain a home septic system to prevent costly failures.

The Water Resources Extension website contains a lot of great information with more being added all the time so be sure to check it out.

Everyone is Facing New Regulations

I spent all day Tuesday at a local farm show and lost track of the number of people who came up wondering why people weren't concerned about the sewage treatment plants and/or lawn management in regard to the new regulations to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.  We were at a farm show, and I'm a dairy educator, so I tend to focus on the agriculture regulations, but sewage treatment plants and lawn care are certainly on the radar of EPA and more regulations are coming to these sectors as well. 

Sewage treatment plants are looking at very expensive upgrades.  Also, discharge from sewage treatment plants is easy to monitor because it all comes out of one pipe, therefore, regulations are relatively easy to enforce. Because sewage treatment plants may not be able to come up with the money for the necessary upgrades there may be opportunity for farmers to get involved in nutrient trading.

As for lawn care management, EPA is very much aware that lawn care is contributing a large proportion of the nutrient loading to the Chesapeake Bay.  There are more and more people moving into the Chesapeake Bay watershed so even though one little lawn may not be adding much, the large number of lawns really bumps up the nutrient loading. 

Because the focus of this blog is agriculture and the environment I won't spend too much on this topic, but I did want to set the record straight that farming is not the only focus when it comes to the Chesapeake Bay and everyone will have to make changes.

Dairy to Reduce Green House Gases

About a week ago the headlines stated that the U.S. dairy industry agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% before 2020.  This reduction is estimated to come from expanding the use of methane digesters on dairy farms.  Methane digesters are a technology that is currently in use on about 2% of U.S. dairies, and allows for production of energy from the digestion of manure.  It is estimated that one 700-cow dairy herd can power 200 homes with electricity.

This is a lofty goal and there are a lot of questions that need to be answered on this front.  For one, there is not good data on green house gas emissions from dairy farms because there are a  number of factors from the diet to facilities that can impact green house gas loss from the farm.  The other issue with betting all of these green house gas emissions reductions on this technology is that installing a methane digester on a farm can be pretty expensive, and, to date, has only been feasible on larger dairy farms.  There is technology out there for use on small farms, but it is not widespread at this point. 

I don't want to sound too down on this goal as it would be great if the dairy industry reached it.  However, I'm a little concerned about how many dairy farmers out there know what they have been volunteered for, and I have concerns about whether the technology has come down in price enough for small farms.

Although we are still working on water quality concerns associated with agriculture, the powers that be are shifting the attention to the next frontier, air quality, and we need to be addressing this as much as possible. 

Simple Steps to Deal With the Chesapeake Bay Regulations

I’ve been to a lot of meetings lately on the new Chesapeake Bay regulations and TMDLs (total maximum daily loads), which have been very informative, yet there are still a number of details that have to be worked out. However, one thing is very clear from these meetings, with EPA taking the lead there is a great deal of will to get the bay cleaned up for good. This is a watershed-wide initiative that includes six states and Washington D.C., but Lancaster County is, and will continue to be, an area of focus. At this point I see no need to panic, but awareness of the issues at hand and realizing that stricter regulations and enforcement of current laws is likely and may impact farms in the region is a good place to start. So what can you do to prepare your farm for these new regulations? First, check with your local conservation district to confirm what current rules and regulations are on the books that may apply to your farm. Second, I have listed four simple practices that can be taken that will give you a step ahead on these regulations, whatever they might be. These practices will also improve your farm management right now and may even improve your bottom-line.

1) Measure dry matter of wet forages weekly. If the dry matter on forages changes drastically and rations are not adjusted the nutrient content of the diet will also change. Therefore, you could be feeding more protein or other nutrients than the cow needs, which is not good for the environment or your feed costs.

2) Feed what is on the sheet. Nutritionists use very precise ration formulation programs and spend a lot of time developing rations. Intentional or unintentional deviations from the ration on paper can negatively impact milk production and nutrient utilization. Checking scales and monitoring mixing more closely are simply steps to address this problem.

3) Monitor milk urea nitrogen (MUN). Milk cooperatives can monitor MUN on the bulk tank, and DHIA can monitor MUN on individual cows. Regardless of what method you use to monitor MUN, it is a good measure of how well the cows are utilizing the protein in the ration. There can be a lot of variation in this number, but trends over time can be identified. Ration and feed management issues may need to be addressed if your farm consistently has high MUN. With protein being one of the most expensive nutrients in the ration this is a must.

4) Keep cows out of the streams. This is considered very low hanging fruit from a water quality standpoint and I don’t see anyway to get around this issue other than to fence cows out of the stream. Although the current regulations require extensive buffers (35-100 ft), I think we may get some compromise on this and just a few feet might be enough. Stay tuned on this issue.

These suggestions are relatively simple on paper, in practice they may be a little more complicated, but there is help. Penn State Extension and the local conservation districts have the expertise and the tools to help implement these new management practices. The reality is that water quality regulations will only get stricter, and like other regulations in the dairy industry, these will be what you need to do if you want to continue in the dairy business.

Swine and Poultry and Air Quality

I realized my dairy bias is really showing through in this blog so in an effort to try to expand my horizons I found a nice article on air quality concerns related to swine and poultry. This is another article from the Manure Du Jour series hosted last year. Another series of Manure Du Jour will be starting up again the first of the year so stay tuned for the schedule.

What are the major sources of greenhouse gas from swine and poultry operations?

The majority of methane and nitrous oxide from swine and poultry operations is emitted from buildings, manure storage, and land application of manure.

What strategies are available to reduce greenhouse gas?

A number of the strategies shown below reduce the potential for GHG emissions and in some cases, the amount of manure nutrients.

• Reducing the amount of waste excreted from the animal decreases the potential for formation of greenhouse gases during manure storage.
• Healthy herds use feed efficiently, and can reduce nitrogen excretion by ten percent compared to unhealthy herds.
• Animals with genetic lines predisposed to high feed efficiency also excrete fewer nutrients in urine and feces.
• Split-sex feeding enables producers to feed each sex closer to its nutritional requirements.
• Phase feeding allows producers to better match nutrients to the changing growth requirements.
• Enzymes, such as phytase, improve the digestibility of protein and reduce nitrogen excretion in manure. A low protein diet can reduce both fecal nitrogen and carbon dioxide production.
• Wet-dry feeders increase efficiency by reducing the amount of feed required to achieve a desired weight gain

What are the EPA reporting requirements for greenhouse gas from animal agriculture?
The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed national reporting of greenhouse gas emissions. Under these reporting requirements, large-, direct emitters of 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxice equivalents or more must report GHG emissions to the EPA. Only emissions from manure management systems are expected to fall under these reporting requirements.

View the “Air Quality Nutrition and Greenhouse Gases” epi­sode of Manure Du Jour on the Penn State Agriculture and Environment Web site: aec.cas.psu.edu/news/webinar_archives.asp. Special thanks are given to Dr. Wendy Powers, Departments of Animal Science and Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Michigan State University, for presenting the information on this topic.

Update on Chesapeake Bay TMDL

I went to a listening session on the Chesapeake Bay TMDL yesterday and things are getting a little clearer.

The current state of things is:

• Pennsylvania contributes 41% of N and 24% of P to the bay.
• Agriculture in Pennsylvania contributes 52% of the N and 50% of the P.
• The bay can handle 200 million lbs of N per year and 15 million lbs of P per year.
  
• The target loads for PA are 73.6 million lbs of N and 3.16 million lbs of P.
  
• The current loads as of 2008 are 118 million lbs of N and 4 million lbs of P.

How is the TMDL going to work? They are dividing the Chesapeake Bay into 92 segments (only two segments in Pennsylvania) based on watersheds. Total allowable loads of N and P will be rationed out to the states and then the states will decide how to rations those loads out even further to non-point and point source pollutors. The division of nutrient loading amongest the states is that the worst waterways are expected to do the most. From the view here in Lancaster County, we will be expected to do a lot! However, the good news is that we will get credit for all the good practices we have already implemented.

Cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay is going to be, and has been, a huge undertaking, but if we can get all 17 million people who live is the watershed to do there own small part it will be a lot easier.

If you are interested in learning more about the Chesapeake Bay TMDL check out the EPA website epa.gov/chesapeakebayTMDL