Manure and Nutrient Management

The Manure Challenge Adds Sponsors and Advisors

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 05:50:07 GMT

The Yield Lab Institute is pleased to announce the addition of a number of diverse advisors to the Manure Challenge, as well as a successful application cycle.

The Manure Challenge—organized by Yield Lab Institute with guidance from the World Wildlife Fund, Newtrient, and the Dairy Farmers of America—brings together the expertise of many eminent public, for profit, and non-for-profit leaders from a wide variety of backgrounds to support interest and investment in the manure management sector. The following organizations have been added as sponsors: Cargill, The Maschhoffs, and WeWork FoodLabs.

The advisory and mentorship network includes: Joseph Ziobro with the U.S. E.P.A., Rod Larkins with AURI (Agricultural Utilization Research Institute), Kraig Westerbeek with Smithfield, Jonathan Hua with Thrive Accelerator, Aaron Ratner with Ultra Capital LLC, Evan Fraser with the Arrell Food Institute, Ben Gaddy with the Clean Energy Trust, and Fidan Karimova with the Water Research Foundation.

“We are excited to team up with The Yield Lab Institute on the Manure Challenge to help drive innovation and spur investment to address this critical challenge.” Heather Tansey, sustainability lead for Cargill’s global animal nutrition and protein groups. “Together we can deliver meaningful solutions that improve productivity and profitability while minimizing our environmental footprint.”

“Innovative financing mechanisms and technologies are bringing industrial-scale solutions to commercial livestock manure management. These circular economy strategies, which efficiently upcycle otherwise wasted energy and potentially environmentally harmful nutrients, will support an industry-wide transition to a more sustainable and profitable business model,” explained Aaron Ratner, managing director for Ultra Capital LLC.

A total of 63 applications were collected in May; those applications are now in review by a committee of advisors drawn from stakeholders, experts, and partners to evaluate the potential impact and scope of each applicant’s offering. In late August, 6-10 companies will be selected to participate in the challenge.

The challenge will support selected companies in commercializing their products through mentorship, commercial strategy guidance, and network access over the course of six months. Upon conclusion of the programming phase, the selected companies will compete in a pitch competition for a cash prize.

Programming for the selected companies will kick off in early September in Manhattan, Kansas, adjacent to the annual meeting of the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock.

One advisor and the Director of Dairy at the World Wildlife Fund, Sandra Vijn, outlines the importance of the manure challenge, “WWF’s goal is to drive sustainable food systems to conserve nature and feed humanity. Closing nutrient loops on farms can help reduce environmental impacts. More innovation, research, development and investment is needed to advance manure management solutions.”

A full and up-to-date list of partners, sponsors, advisors, and mentors is visible here . If you or your organization would like to be involved, reach out to Connie Bowen at connie@theyieldlab.com

Clean Water Act Violation: $50,000 Fine for Iowa Farm's Manure Runoff

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 05:22:25 GMT

A livestock farm in southeastern Iowa has been fined $50,000 after the owner and an employee plead guilty to charges of violating the Clean Water Act while discharging manure.

In a press release from the Department of Justice , it is outlined that Scott Allen Etcher, age 55, and Benjamin Allen McFarland, age 29, from Etcher Family Farms of New London, Iowa, were sentenced following guilty pleas to Discharge of a Pollutant. The sentencing occurred on Feb. 26, after both Etcher and McFarland had pleaded guilty on Oct. 25, 2018 , to criminal violations of the Clean Water Act.

The guilty plea determined that on or around July 22, 2015, agricultural waste pollutants were negligently discharged. Benjamin McFarland, an employee of the farm, had knowingly applied liquid manure from the concentration animal feeding operation industry (CAFO) via an umbilical discharge hose onto nearby farm land. The liquid manure then runoff directly into an unnamed tributary to Big Creek. The application of the manure, which was deemed as a “pollutant” by the court, was an unpermitted discharge and had been done under the supervision of the owner and operator of Etcher Family Farms, Scott Etcher.

In an email to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Farm Journal was told that court filings by the Iowa Secretary of State indicated that the CAFO was a dairy farm.

Under the sentencing, Etcher Family Farms will serve a five years of organizational probation, pay a $50,000 fine and a $400 special assessment payable to the Crime Victims’ Fund.

Terms of the probation include:

The prohibition from discharging any pollutants to a water of a the United States except in compliance with a permit from the approved authority
Etcher Family Farms will establish, implement, and enforce an Environmental Compliance Plan and the organization will not seek early termination from probation until all obligations of the plea agreement are satisfied and the Environmental Compliance Plan has been fully implemented for two years
Etcher Family Farm should pay for independent laboratory analysis of samples collected by either the Iowa Department of Natural Resources or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Etcher Family Farms will publish a public notice of the agreement and underlying facts in a national trade publication serving the CAFO

In addition, Scott Allen Etcher, owner of the farm, will also serve a five year probation and is to pay a $25 special assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund. Benjamin Allen McFarland, employee on the farm, was sentenced to two years of probation and a $25 special assessment payable to the Crime Victims’ Fund.

The case was investigated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Managing Manure Storage Structures

Thu, 12 Nov 2020 05:53:22 GMT

Written by Sarah Fronczak, Michigan State University Extension

Last December’s early onset of winter weather combined with heavy snow cover may mean some manure storages are nearing capacity and soon, the spring rain will begin to fall.

Rain has a way of making spring field work difficult, slowing the progress of all fieldwork including emptying in-ground manure storages. The more rain, the more freeboard disappears in the storage and the less opportunity to spread manure without getting stuck. What to do?

Daily Monitoring

There are no simple solutions, but thinking through your specific situation, and monitoring it daily can help prevent, or at least minimize, environmental risks and potential regulatory issues.

Outside manure storages should be designed with freeboard to deal with extreme spring weather. The Generally Accepted Agricultural Management Practices ( GAAMPs ) for manure state that all manure storage structures shall maintain a minimum freeboard of twelve inches (six inches for fabricated structures) plus the additional storage volume necessary to contain the precipitation and runoff from a 25-year, 24-hour storm event. Freeboard means the distance from the level of manure to the top of the storage structure. This “storm event” amount is an average of an additional 4 inches in Michigan. You can check your county’s precipitation . That means concrete structures need to have at least 10 inches of freeboard and earthen storages need 16 inches of freeboard at all times to be in compliance with GAAMPs and Right-To-Farm.

For all storage structures, especially earthen, cautiously walk the perimeter of the storage daily (if necessary) based on your rainfall amounts, weather forecasts and storage situation. Recognize that berms for earthen storages, just like fields, may be water saturated and weakened. Assess how solid the sides are, looking for low points or areas with lower structural integrity.

Keep Clean Water Clean

The late spring and excessive rains in some parts of Michigan may cause the freeboard to be consumed by rain and runoff. As rain fills up this freeboard, it may put stress on the integrity of the structure. If the stress results in a break or overflow of the storage, thousands of gallons could quickly exit the manure storage. A manure storage that captures excess clean water runoff from around the farmstead, in addition to direct rainfall, obviously fills up even faster. Diverting clean water from reaching the manure storage would help now and in future rainy weather. Roof runoff is a cost sharable practice through EQIP. Contact your local NRCS office for more information.

Plan for Emergencies

Each farm location has unique risks of manure reaching surface waters. Asses your risk, consider what the worst case scenario might be and think through a plan to address that situation. Knowing the down slope direction from the storage will help you think through what sensitive areas are along that path and help you know how critical the risks could be. Know how to get earth moving equipment on site immediately and plan where potential berms would need to be built to divert the flow from reaching surface water, neighboring property or road ways. Even when there are not imminent risks to surface waters, have plans in place to contain, control and stop manure from moving overland. If your farm doesn’t have a written plan, you can learn how to do one with MSU Extension bulletin E-2575s, Emergency Planning for the Farm: Livestock Operations.

Already at Freeboard?

Do everything you can to reduce liquid manure storage before they are dangerously close to overflowing. Even relieving a few inches off the top will buy some time and reduce stress on the storage system. Options may include transferring manure to another system, hauling to the driest field you have or assessing if you can get on any alfalfa field without getting stuck.

Don’t make a bad situation worse. When land applied, be sure that the manure is not at risk of running off to surface waters. Tile drained fields provide another risk during wet times. Be cautious by taking appropriate steps to insure applied manure does not reach surface inlets or tile drains.

For permitted farms, allowing manure to exceed the freeboard limit is a permit violation, even if a release does not occur. Contact your regional Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Staff and file a report. They will work with you to seek an emergency solution.

In the event that a manure storage breaches and manure reaches surface waters, contact the Pollution Emergency Alerting System hotline immediately at the Department of Environmental Quality: (800) 292.4706 or Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development: (800) 405.0101