The Ag.

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The Ag. Phosphorus Story 2008
Phosphorus Enrichment
Regulatory and
Voluntary Interventions
Clean and Clear
-Goals, Measurement of Success, and
Accomplishments-
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Clean and Clear Ag. Water Quality
Program Goals Measurement of Success Business
Model Farm Assessments
Animal Agriculture Demographics
Regulatory Interventions
1976 CAFO Regs.
1995 AAP Regs.
1993 L.C. P Stand.
1996 LFO Prog.
2006 MFO Prog.
1987 AAP Regs.
2006 AAP Regs.
2002 L.C. P TMDL
2003 CAFO Regs.
Voluntary Interventions
1979 Fed BMPs
1996 State BMPs
2004 State NMP
1979-1991 Small Water- Shed Studies
2000 P in Feeds Study
Alt. Man. Mgmt.
1996 L.C. Opp. For Action
2002 CREP/ 2006 VABP
Mid-90s N to P Manure Recs.
FAP
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• Ag. Water Quality
• -Goals-
• Implement programs to eliminate discharges from
  production areas, protect ground water, and
  reduce sediment and nutrient losses from cropland
• Provide financial and technical assistance to
  farmers in order to achieve regulatory compliance

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• Ag. Water Quality
• -Measurement of Success-
• All farms implement Nutrient Management Plans
  appropriate to their size and operation
• Cropland is brought to optimum phosphorous soil
  level
• No dirty water is discharged from the production
  areas of farms 

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• Ag. Water Quality -Measurement of Success-
• (cont.)
• Soil is saved from stream bank erosion
• Soil is saved from gully erosion controls
• Buffers are implemented to reduce soil and
  phosphorous losses

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• Ag. Water Quality
• -Measurement of Success-
• (cont.)
• Nitrate concentrations are within standards for
  drinking-water wells
• Technical assistance to farmers increases the
  adoption of field practices and the use of waste
  structures on farms

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• Ag. Water Quality
• -Measurement of Success-
• (cont.)
• Cost neutral phosphorous reduction systems for
  manure are demonstrated on farms
• More livestock are excluded from streams

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Ag. Water Quality -Business Model-
Farmstead Background Assessment Large Farm
Operations Medium Farm Operations (MFO
Survey) Small Farm Operations (SFO Survey)
Leads To
Regulatory Standards AAPs MFO LFO TMDL
Leads To
Leads To
Leads To
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Phosphorus Enrichment
Superphosphate (in tons) Applied to Vermont Lands
Since 1936
316,500 Tons (36-73) 33,000 Tons
(74-85) 349,500 Tons Total
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Animal AgricultureDairy Farm Demographics
Milking Cows in Vermont
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Animal AgricultureDairy Farm Demographics
(cont.)
Dairy Farms in Vermont
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Animal AgricultureDairy Farm Demographics
(cont.)
Milking Cows/ Farm
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Animal AgricultureDairy Farm Demographics
(cont.)
Milk Production (lbs./cow)
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Animal AgricultureDairy Farm Demographics
(cont.)
Manure Production of All Farms (tons/year)
Phosphorus Red Nitrogen Blue Potassium Black
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Animal AgricultureDairy Farm Demographics
(cont.)
Farmland Acreage
Cornland Red Hayland Blue Pastureland Black
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1976 Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
(CAFO) Rule

• 1972 Clean Water Act (CWA) regulates point
  sources including feedlots.
• 1976 CWA defines CAFOs as Point Sources for
  production areas only.
• Over time, agriculture evolves. The overall
  trend is toward farm consolidations. This
  results in fewer number farms but larger sized
  farms.

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1987 Accepted Agricultural Practices

• Commissioner of Agriculture defined Accepted
  Agricultural Practices as required by indirect
  discharge provisions of 10 VSA Section 1259.
• Farms following AAPs were exempted from indirect
  discharge permits.
• No means of enforcement within AAPs

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1987 AAP Restrictions

• Animal manure, whey or sludge shall not be spread
  upon snow-covered or frozen ground within the
  floodway area.
• Animal manure, fertilizer, or pesticides shall
  not be stored within a floodway area.
• Animal manure shall be stored at least 100 feet
  from shallow wells or springs.

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1987 AAP Restrictions (cont.)

• A vegetative buffer zone shall be maintained
  between agricultural lands and adjoining streams
  or waters of the state sufficient to protect the
  waters from
• (a) nutrients carried by a discharge of
  milkhouse wastes
• (b) nutrients carried by wastes washed from
  barnyards and
• (c) erosion of the stream banks due to
  excessive tillage.

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Lake Champlain PhosphorusQuality Criteria
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1995 Accepted Agricultural Practices

• Added enforceability
• Procedure for complaint-driven enforcement
• AAPs
• Discharge restriction (from production areas)
• Vegetative buffer requirement at points of runoff
• Winter manure spreading prohibition

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Large Farm Operations (LFO) Program

• The LFO Program is an environmental protection
  program for agricultural water quality.
• LFO law adopted in 1995
• The LFO law requires
• A permit to construct a new barn
• A permit to operate a large farm
• No dirty water discharge from the production of
  farms to waters of the state or groundwater
• A demonstration that farm has an adequately sized
  manure management system and
• A Nutrient Management Plan to dispose of wastes
  in accordance with AAPs.

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LFO Program

• The LFO law also allows the conditioning or the
  denial of a permit based on
• odor,
• noise,
• traffic,
• insects,
• flies, and
• other pests.

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LFO Program Requirements

• Public informational meetings are held for
• Construction permits
• Animal Expansion
• Operational permits will include
• A current inventory of all fields and acreage
  used for nutrient management
• A current soil tests (lt3 years old)
• A yearly manure sampling
• Nutrient applications based on current soil and
  manure tests and realistic yield goals
• Annual reporting of nutrient applications which
  reconcile previous applications and propose
  nutrient management for the next years growing
  season and
• Records for all exports of manure.

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Lake Champlain TMDL (total maximum daily loads)

• A TMDL is an estimate of pollution from all
  contributing point and non-point sources
  allowable without impairing vital uses such as
  drinking-water supply or aquatic life support.
• Lake Champlain has
• 13 lake segments with a phosphorus TMDL.

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Lake Champlain TMDL
1991 Phosphorus Loads and Load Allocations (mt/yr)
Total Ag. Load Reduction 44.89
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Lake Champlain TMDL
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2003 Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
(CAFO) Rule

• The 2003 CAFO Rule revision included
• Permits required for all large CAFOs and medium
  CAFOs with discharges
• Production areas and land application (NMP)
  requirements for permitted farms
• 2003 CAFO Rule revision appealed by farming and
  environmental organizations

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2003 CAFO Rule (cont.)

• 2003 CAFO Rule revision was appealed by farming
  and environmental organizations.
• Federal District Court decision made in 2005
• (1) Only farms that have a discharge from the
  production area are required to apply for a CAFO
  permit.
• (2) NMPs must be reviewed prior to issuing
  permits.
• (3) Permits must include the terms of the NMPs
  and an opportunity for public participation
  required prior to issuing permit.

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Medium Farm Operations (MFO) Program

• Ag. water quality regulatory permitting program
  for medium sized farms
• A MFO dairy is 200-699 mature animals
• Developed from 2004/2005 Ag. Water Quality Law
• Medium and Small Farm Operation Rules for
  Issuance of General and Individual Permits
  effective April 2006

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MFO Permit Requirements

• Farms will be permitted under a General Permit.
• Small Farm Operations may seek coverage under the
  General Permit.
• Requirements for permitted farms
• No dirty water discharge from the production area
• Land application of animal wastes in accordance
  with a Nutrient Management Plan (NMP)

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MFO Program Goals

• The primary indicators and goals for the Medium
  Farm Operations program are to ensure
• all farms implement Nutrient Management Plans
  appropriate to their size and operation and
• no dirty water is discharged from the production
  areas of farms.

• Additional goals for the MFO program are to
  ensure
• nitrate concentrations are within standards for
  drinking-water wells and
• buffers are implemented to reduce soil and
  phosphorus losses.

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Accepted Agricultural Practices(AAP) Revisions

• Effective April 2006
• Minimum 10 foot vegetated buffer for all surface
  water (25 feet at points of runoff)
• No manure storage within 100 feet of private
  wells
• No manure application within 50 feet of private
  wells or 10 feet of surface water (25 feet at
  points of runoff)

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Accepted Agricultural PracticesRevisions (cont.)

• Minimum 10 foot vegetated buffer for all surface
  water (25 feet at points of runoff)
• Soil tests required every five years
• Vegetative cover required on stream banks
• Waste storage facilities must meet NRCS standards
  if constructed or expanded after July 2006.

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Small Watershed Studies

• RCWP St. Albans Bay Recommendations
• BMPs for waste and fertilizer management
• BMPs for erosion control
• Improved farmstead/waste storage management
• Controlled access to surface water
• Consider 12-month waste storage
• A mechanism to assess and track continued BMP
  implementation
• RCWP St. Albans Bay Outcomes
• End of winter spreading

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Federal BMP Cost Share Programs

• 1936
• NRCS/FSA Agricultural Conservation Program (ACP)
  
• 1979
• ACP funds waste storage
• 1997
• Environmental Quality Incentives Program
• - Incentive payments and cost share payments for
  implementing conservation practices

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Environmental Quality Incentives Program

• Program goals include
• Reduction of non-point source pollution
  consistent with TMDLs (where available)
• Reduction of groundwater contamination and
• Conservation of ground and surface water
  resources.

• Eligible conservation practices include
• Field Waste Stacking Area
• Heavy Use Area Protection
• Structure for Water Control
• Use Exclusion and
• Waste Storage Facility.

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N to P Based Manure Application

• Nitrogen based manure applications
• Over application of phosphorus
• Change to P based management using
• Nitrate Leaching Index and
• The Vermont Phosphorus Index.
• Decreased manure application rates and increased
  water resources protection

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Lake Champlain Opportunities for Action

• Recommendations of P reduction on LCBP targeted
  watersheds
• Implementation of P reducing strategies
• Expansion and acceleration of existing ag.
  non-point source pollution programs
• Farm Structural Improvement
• Streambank, riparian, and buffer strip
  installation and protection
• Promotion of Nutrient Management Plans (NMPs)
• Research and demonstration of NMP effectiveness

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Best Management Practices

• Phosphorus Production

1 Annual milk production per year at 14,000 to
16,000 lbs. 2 Annual milk production per year at
18,000 to 20,000 lbs.
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Best Management Practices

• Nutrient Production Lbs. Phosphorus per Year
• (1,000 lb animal equivalent)

1 Annual milk production per year at 14,000 to
16,000 lbs. 2 Annual milk production per year at
18,000 to 20,000 lbs.
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Best Management Practices

• BMP phosphorus treatment
• Waste storage/management systems
• 250 cow dairy 20,700 lbs P/ year
• Milkhouse wastewater system
• 250 cow dairy 530 lbs P/ year
• Silage leachate system
• 250 cow dairy 140 lbs P/ year

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Best Management Practices
2,462 Animal Waste Facilities Installed 1979-1996
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Best Management Practices
2,606 BMPs Implemented (1287 Production Area
BMPs) 1996-2006
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Best Management Practices
The goal and primary indicator for the Best
Management Practices program is to ensure no
dirty water is discharged from the production
areas of farms.
An additional goal for the BMP program is to
ensure nitrate concentrations are within
standards for drinking-water wells.
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P in Dairy Feeds

• National Research Council (NRC) publishes dietary
  research results and recommendations for
  formulating dairy diets.
• In recent years the recommended P in this
  publication has been reduced from above 0.50 to
  a range of 0.33 - 0.45 of dry matter intake.

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Consequences of Over-Feeding P

• Once a dairy cow is fed enough P to meet their
  requirements, the remainder is excreted as manure
  P.
• Reducing a dairy diet from the industry standard
  of 0.45 to 0.50 to the NRC recommendation of
  0.38 can reduce potential manure P excretion by
  more than 50.
• (Sudduth and Loveless paraphrasing results from
  Ebeling et al., 2002)

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Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program

• Voluntary program to plant trees and grasses
  along rivers and streams
• Reduce P inputs to waterways via surface runoff
  by creating buffers that capture sediment and
  soluble P
• CREP aims to provide compensation for production
  losses incurred by installing buffers through
  rental payments, practice payments, and incentive
  payments.
• Buffers are not harvestable.

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Vermont Agronomic Buffers Program (VABP)

• 25 feet wide harvestable grass filter strips

Grassed buffer in Williston, VT
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Vermont Agronomic Buffers Program (VABP)

• Up to 100 feet wide harvestable grassed waterways

Potential Site for a Grassed Waterway Franklin
Co., VT
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CREP/VABP Results
The goal and primary indicator for CREP/VABP is a
75 reduction in surface runoff P from fields.
Efficiency is predominantly dependent on slope,
soils, and the size of the runoff event.
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Nutrient Management Plan Incentive Grants

• NMP Development
• 7 per acre
• 10 per soil sample
• 35 per manure sample
• NMP Updates
• 2,000 per year for 2 years
• 1,000 for 3rd and final update
• 5,000 total for 3 years of NMP updates
• Maximum Incentive Grant Payments are
  limited to 13,000 per farm

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Soil Test P rating for VT
Soil test extractant is VT. Buffer or Modified
Morgan's (1.25M NH4 acetate, pH 4.8)
Interpretations of Soil Categories Low (L)
High Probability of crop response to addition of
nutrient. Medium (M) Moderate probability of
response to addition of nutrient. Optimum (OPT)
Most desirable STP range. Low level or response
to addition of nutrient. High (H) Higher STP
then needed, no additional nutrients
needed. Excessive (EX) STP higher then
desirable for economic and environmental reasons.
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Nutrient Management (cont.)
The goal and primary indicator for nutrient
management is to have all cropland brought to
optimum phosphorous soil level.
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Nutrient Management (cont.)

• Additional goals for nutrient management include
• saving soil from gully erosion and
• ensuring nitrate concentrations are within
  standards (10ppm) for drinking-water wells.

Summary of Nitrate Detections 2002-2006
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Alternative Manure Management

• AMM encourages the development of novel,
  farm-based technologies in order to
• reduce the volume of manure
• transform manure components in to marketable or
  useable products
• improve management of manure nutrients and
• promote soil tilth.

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Alternative Manure Management

• Alternative Manure Management Technologies
• reduce odor
• produce energy
• increase energy efficiency
• reduce pathogens
• reduce weed seeds and
• make nutrients more marketable.

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Alternative Manure Management
The goal and primary indicator for alternative
manure management is to demonstrate cost neutral
phosphorus reductions systems for manure.

• Additional goals for alternative manure
  management include having
• nitrate concentrations within standards for
  drinking-water wells and
• no dirty water discharged from the production
  areas of farms.

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Farm Agronomic Practices(FAP)

• Financial assistance for soil-based practices
  that
• Improve soil quality
• Increase crop production and
• Reduce erosion and agricultural waste discharges.
• Eligible practices include
• Nutrient Management Plan Maintenance/Update
  (2/acre)
• Cover Cropping (20/acre)
• Strip Cropping (25/acre)
• Conservation Crop Rotation (25/acre) and
• Cross-Slope tillage (10/acre).

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FAP

• Water quality goals for FAP include
• to have all cropland brought to optimum
  phosphorous soil level
• saving soil from gully erosion and.
• ensuring nitrate concentrations are within
  standards (10ppm) for drinking-water wells.

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