Snow, Snow, and More Snow!

The Mid-Atlantic region has gotten hammered by, not one, but two major storms in the past week and many are still trying to recover.  My dog has loved every minute of it, the rest of us have had to deal with the inconveniences of shoveling and trying to get to work, but dairy farmers have been hit financially by these storms.  Dairy producers rely on the milk truck to pick up milk at least every other day if not more often and feed trucks to deliver purchased feeds to their cows.  During the past week as many as 300 farms in Lancaster County, and potentially others elsewhere, have had to dump milk because the milk trucks can not get through the roads to pick up the milk.  This is a huge financial loss to the farmers, but there can also be environmental concerns related to dumping of the milk.  Milk is high in many nutrients, and as much as it is a good food for us it is also a great food for bacteria and other microorganisms in local waterways.  This can lead to a depletion of oxygen in the water killing fish and other aquatic organisms.  Therefore, farmers are encouraged to try to dump excess milk in manure storage facilities if available.  Storage facilities are sure to fill up quickly from snow, manure, and now the milk so many farmers may be forced to spread the milk on the fields.  Even spreading might be difficult as gaining access to fields will be a challenge.  However, whatever the situation is on the farm dumped milk should be managed appropriately.  Set-backs from waterways and wells should be observed and amounts spread should be recorded and accounted for in nutrient application calculations.