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Plan of Action for Manure Management
A
whole-farm nutrient management plan will be developed with the
assistance of the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), with
particular focus on:
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Incorporating composting into your farm management plan will
provide a valuable source of nutrients for pastures and
assist with manure disposal.
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Short and long-term manure storage, including
storage structure design
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Design of composting sites, as well as plans
for use of compost and manure
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Proper manure disposal
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Soil nutrient level maintenance
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Little or no risk of water contamination
Currently under way is the design for a manure storage structure
located near a planned bio-retention basin. This location will allow us
to design a vegetative area that will tie into the bio-retention basin.
The design is to be completed in the spring or summer of 2006, and
construction is anticipated to begin shortly thereafter.
Short Term Manure Storage Structure
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The finished manure storage pit was designed with the help of NRCS.
Click to see a close-up of the drainage spaces at the bottom
of the pit.
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The first manure storage structure was completed near the Ryders Lane Equine Facility at the end of
September 2006. The old facility was too small and was located in such a place that all runoff leaching from the manure pile
(which, owing to the small size of the storage, was substantial) ran down the animal lanes and into a waterway.
The new structure is much larger than its
predecessor. It has the capacity to hold manure and bedding from 17 horses
kept in stalls for 24 hours a day for up to 45 days. This design allows
for flexibility with farm animal density while maintaining environmental
quality, as the Ryders Lane facility is
currently housing 12 weanlings that are stalled for only 12 hours a day.
Additionally, the new
structure is located farther away from the Ryders Lane Barn, allowing for
vegetative buffers composed of cool-season grasses to surround the storage
area. Drainage
spaces in the back and side walls, along with the slope of the pit
itself, allow runoff to proceed through the buffers, which will prevent
contamination of animal movement lanes and local
waterways.
Manure
Storage Pit Buffer
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The vegetative buffer should consist of a mixture of cool-season grasses and legumes and be fenced off from all horses and livestock.
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The new manure storage pit requires
drain holes to allow rainfall to not pool in the pit, but exit out the back due to the slight slope of the floor of the pit. This requires a vegetative buffer to be planted where the nutrients from the manure can be taken up by the plants allowing clean water to enter our lakes and streams and
ensuring that all runoff from the facility will not contaminate animal movement lanes or waterways.
Our buffer was designed according to NRCS
size and grass composition:
- The buffer extends 35 feet behind the pit down a gradual slope and
should be at least the width of the manure pit (see photo).
- The vegetative buffer is composed of cool-season grasses and
legumes including white clover (2 lb/acre), orchard grass (6 lb/acre),
and smooth brome (6 lb/acre)
- Buffers of this kind need to be fenced off from horses and other
livestock and only maintained with a mower as needed.
Rutgers CNMP
A Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP)
describes and documents a conservation system within a conservation plan
that is unique to animal feeding operations.
(1) At a minimum, a CNMP must address quality
criteria to the sustainable level for soil erosion and water quality for
the planning unit associated with the animal feeding operation.
Conservation planning activities associated with the development of a
CNMP, however, should attempt to achieve a CNMP that addresses quality
criteria to the RMS level for all five natural resources (soil, water,
air, plants, and animals).
(2) Any CNMP that is developed by a NRCS (Natural
Resource Conservation Service) or partner employee will have the plan
approved by a NRCS certified conservation planner.
A CNMP may be comprised of six possible elements:
(1) Manure and Wastewater
Handling and Storage.
(2) Land Treatment
Practices.
(3) Nutrient Management.
(4) Record Keeping.
(5) Feed Management.
(6) Other Utilization
Options.
Information was obtained on 11/23/07 from
http://policy.nrcs.usda.gov/viewerFS.aspx?id=659.
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