(Continued from Page Al)
spreads to the fingers and toes.
Along with the above symptoms,
livestock may exhibit a staggering
gait, rapid heartbeat and labored
breathing. “It’s a potentially fatal
disease,” said Makuch, “but it can
be treated rather easily.”
Because the bacteria capable of
performing the nitrate-nitrite
conversion are not present in adult
humans, adults do not normally
contract the disease. Infants
younger than six months, however,
lack the acidity in their digestive
tracts necessary to kill the bac
teria.
Like human infants, ruminant
livestock (cattle and sheep) of all
ages are susceptible to nitrate
poisoning. Horses are also
susceptible, as are young swine
and poultry.
The acceptable limit of nitrate
content in drinking water, as
outlined by the Environmental
Protection Agency, is 10 parts per
million of nitrate nitrogen, also
expressed as 45 ppm of nitrates,
according to water resource
specialist William Sharpe.
Though no legal limits have been
established for livestock,
researchers generally use a figure
of 100 ppm nitrate-nitrogen,
Shame said. Above this level.
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Nitrates
nitrate poisoning nas oeen
associated with increases in
abortions, lower growth rate and
reproductive problems, according
to a nitrate report issued by Penn
State University.
Though septic systems can
contaminate private drinking
water supplies, the biggest
problem is overfertilization
resulting from excess manure
application to crop fields, said
Makuch. “Nitrate dissolves easily,
and if the plants don’t use it, it’s
subject to leaching,” he pointed
out.
The problem is particularly
acute in the southeastern part of
the state, where large numbers of
livestock produce more manure
than existing cropland can utilize.
The problem is intensified by the
area’s soils and geology, said
Makuch. The area’s fractured rock
and porous soils speed the
movement of excess nitrates to
groundwater supplies, he noted.
Lancaster County Extension
director Jay Irwin put the manure
problem into perspective by
comparing the county’s livestock
numbers in 1970 to a 1983 census.
Whereas dairy cattle numbered
67,000 in 1970, 13 years later the
number had nearly doubled to
112,000. A similar increase was
noted in laying hen numbers, and
the broiler population increased
from 18 million to 44 million during
that period. Cattle and calf
numbers (includes young dairy
stock and all beef cattle) jumped
from 127,000 to 188,000, and hog
numbers exploded, reaching
340,000 from a 1970 figure of
109,000.
“Every time you increase
livestock numbers, you better be
finding some more land to put that
manure on,” Irwin cautioned,
noting that in 1983 the county
needed about 340,000 acres of
cropland to dispose of its manure
at recommended application rates.
In fact, only about 274,000 acres
were available, he said.
The excess manure dilemma is
reflected in statistics presented by
Lancaster Laboratories
microbiologist Earl Custer. “In
1978, 25 community water systems
(including small municipal sup
plies and mobile home parks) were
faced with the problem of elevated
nitrates,” Custer said, pointing out
that the number has risen to about
30 to 35 systems currently.
He noted that nitrate levels of 50
to 70 milligrams per liter (roughly
equivalent to parts per million)
have been documented in private
water supplies throughout the
county.
Water specialist Karen Mancl
listed three basic water treatment
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Dacambar 7,1955-Al9
methods currently in use to
combat high nitrate levels. Both
the reverse osmosis and
distillation systems are
demineralization methods that
work well for family water sup
plies but are incapable of servicing
livestock operations, Mancl said.
A third system, based on ion
exchange, is compatible with
livestock requirements. "It’s
really the only one that will give
you enough water,” said the
specialist.
But the cost of installing an ion
exchange unit may be prohibitive
for some operations, Mancl said.
The resin required to remove
Ethanol market for corn
grows 40%, NCGA says
ST. LOUIS Corn used for fuel
ethanol production is projected to
account for 240 million bushels of
corn in 1985 compared to 172
million bushels in 1984, a 40% in
crease.
“Increasing one of our corn
markets by 40% per year is one of
the few bright spots in agriculture,
and that’s what fuel ethanol did in
1985,” says Dain Friend, National
Corn Growers Association (NCGA)
president from Warrensburg,
Illinois.
nitrate from drinking water is
about three time more expensive
than the comparable material used
in water softeners.
Can the cost of such a system be
justified on the basis of increased
milk, meat or egg production? As
yet no numbers are available to
answer that question. But Lan
caster Extension dairy specialist
Glenn Shirk feels that nitrate
removal may prove to be
beneficial. “I hear a number of
farmers comment that when they
install systems they see an im
provement in (dairy) production,”
Shirk said. “I’m one who doesn’t
rule it out.”
Sighting data released by the
Washington based Information
Resources Incorporated (IRI),
Friend says, “IRI projected 759
million gallons of sales for 1985
with 625 million gallons produced
domestically. Of that, ap
proximately 25 million gallons
were produced from non-corn
sources leaving 600 million gallons
from com. Calculating 2.5 gallons
per bushel that’s 240 million
bushels!”
John Pellet, NCGA vice
president for market development
and a farmer from Chesterfield,
Missouri, calls this great news for
U.S. com growers. “Anytime a
market grows at nearly 40%, that’s
exceptional because normally 5 to
6% growth is considered good,”
says Pellet. “This shows farmers
can make a difference by working
through their commodity
organization to promote their
products. Nobody is going to do it
for us, especially in the ethanol
market when we have the U.S.
Customs Service allowing
Brazilian ethanol imports to avoid
the 60 cents per gallon duty and
some oil companies trying to take
this market away from us. ”
“U.S. com growers can’t let up
because a 40% jump again in 1986
would consume nearly 350 million
bushels of com if we can sustain
this growth,” says Friend. “The
opportunity to reach our billion
bushel goal in 1990 is there, but not
without a fight. Clearly, we must
have new long term markets if we
are ever to see profitable
agriculture again and this is one
market farmers have created and
only farmers can sustain.”
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