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Regional Program Priority
Issue Areas
Regional Initiatives
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The
following is a brief summary of the water quality issues, work
to date, and capabilities associated with Animal Waste Management
for Small Farms:
Small farms are a major constituent
of agriculture within Region 2, and small animal farms may
be a significant source of water pollution. These operations
are generally unregulated and need additional assistance services
to help them manage water quality impacts. According to Ag
Census (1997) statistics, over 40,000 farms in Region 2 average
under $50,000 in annual income from agriculture products sold.
The USDA currently defines a small farm as one with less than
$250,000 in gross receipts annually. There are a total of
60,000 farms in Region 2 that fall within this definition.
The region’s cattle farms (with the exception of the
Virgin Islands) average 77 cows, swine farms average 57 pigs,
and poultry farms average 3,260 chickens (all types). A recent
survey taken of New Jersey horse farms found over 7,000 horse
farms in the state; estimates of horse farms are not found
in Ag Census statistics.
Most of these small farms do not fall
under the EPA Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation regulations,
and the associated comprehensive nutrient management planning
requirements. Also, most of these farms do not take advantage
of assistance provided through Farm Bill and related programs,
either because of lack of awareness or an inability to contribute
requisite matching funds for capital improvements. Many of
these farms operate in suburban areas, where there is increased
pressure to improve environmental management. This pressure
results from nuisance concerns by new residents unfamiliar
with farming operations, and from the need for farmers to
reduce pollution loading to water bodies that are impaired
as the result of intensive land use. States in Region 2 are
aggressively moving forward in developing EPA mandated Total
Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for many of these impaired waters
(both New Jersey and New York have committed to developing
hundreds of TMDLs within the next two years). TMDL implementation
and evolving state and local regulations will add to the pressure
on these small farms to manage their runoff.
States within Region 2 have identified
agriculture as a significant source of nutrient and pathogen
pollution in numerous impaired water bodies. In New York State,
agriculture has been identified as a major source of impact/impairment
in approximately 33% of the rivers and streams and 24% of
the lakes and reservoirs included on the state’s priority
water body list. And in New Jersey, the state DEP has identified
agriculture as a major source of watershed impairment, especially
for phosphorous and fecal coliform. While data is not available
on a regional or state scale to identify the pollution contribution
associated with small animal farms, given the large number
of these facilities region-wide and that there is a concentration
of these farms in many watersheds, it is likely that these
facilities have a significant water quality impact in many
areas of our region.
During the Region 2 Program 2003 annual
meeting, faculty and other stakeholders met to share information
on animal waste issues, describe work underway and capabilities
at each institution, and plan regional collaboration. As a
result of these discussions, we were able to better define
the small animal farm population in the region, and identify
attributes present in this population throughout the region
(including limited resources, with some significant exceptions
for horse farms, and relative isolation regarding access to
information generally and as related to environmental management).
The discussions also yielded an understanding of the complementary
capabilities of our four institutions, information gaps related
to the location and water quality impacts of small farms in
the region, and the need to adapt assessment tools and management
practices to meet the needs and capabilities of these farms.
From this and other stakeholder discussions, the animal waste
team identified the following regional animal waste management
needs that can be effectively addressed through regional collaboration:
1. Identify small animal farmers on a watershed scale;
2. Adapt self-assessment tools small farmers can use to determine
waste management needs;
3. Promote manure manage programs to horse farmers;
4. Promote composting as an appropriate technology for use
by small farmers;
5. Tailor diet management methods for use on small farms to
reduce nonpoint source pollution;
6. Initiate a regional on-farm biogas project, building on
UPR and Cornell experience.
Each of the Land Grant Universities
(LGUs) in the region has programs in place to assist small
farms. For example, Cornell works with small farms to improve
feeding regimens as a cost saving method to reduce nutrient
pollution. Rutgers is testing cost effective horse manure
composting techniques and the University of Puerto Rico (UPR)
designs low cost manure storage facilities for limited resource
farms. The Region 2 Program has also contributed to LGU efforts
in animal waste management by facilitating regional discussion
and by providing resources to the LGUs to advance their work
in this area. At UPR, this work has included design of a model
egg laying operation, including a state of the art dry litter
management system. UPR has also carried out a chicken waste
lagoon closure project. In New Jersey, the Region 2 Program
facilitated projects to test water quality in a river adjacent
to several small dairies and review feeding regimens at these
facilities; and to review the Livestock and Poultry Environmental
Steward Curriculum (LPES) for use in New Jersey. Input was
also provided to New York State in its adaptation of LPES.
These projects were all carried out to improve animal waste
management and facilitate regional collaboration.
Project leads:
Michael Westendorf
Rutgers University/Cook College
Department of Animal Sciences
213E Bartlett Hall
Cook College, P.O. Box 231
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903
Phone: 732 932-9408
Fax: 732 932-6996
westendorf@aesop.rutgers.edu
Rafael Davila-Lopez
University of Puerto Rico
P.O. Box 21120
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00928
Phone: 787 767-8281
Fax: 787 772-9115
radavila@upr.edu
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