Nutrient Legislation Needs S“C^ a E' pta, ’ , " d (Contbiuad from Pag* Al) were to be approved as it is written All plans have to be approved by support from all agricultural orga- > n HB 496 about 10,000 farmers a certified person before they are nizations and environmental orga- would go out of business as a submitted to the conservation nizations who testified before the result. district. House, and has been apparently In theory, the bill would eventu- In more specificity, the proposal idled in the wake of more recent ally require virtually all farmers sets U P the state Conservation legislative proposals. file plans. Commission (an autonomous According to the groups, the The bill targets those who con- board which oversees the state’s current legislation is a compromise duct agricultural operations (defin- soil conservation districts) to cre arrived at after many discussions ition includes raising of all animals atc regulations and guidelines for with lawmakers, representatives of and plants) who fertilize with “ani- making nutrient management agricultural organizations and mal manure,” or raise livestock or Plans. The commission is also to others who would be directly poultry, commercially or other- create enforcement parameters, involved in implementing the wise on 10 or more acres. The board has been chaired by program. Not included are landowners die secretary of DER, but is not However, they said that as long as the bill’s intent was not changed, they would go along with amendments which clarified wording. During a Wednesday morning farmers’ seminar sponsored by Lebanon Valley National Bank in Prescott, Lebanon County, Sheila Miller, executive director of the Senate Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee, urged farmers to study the proposed legislation, consider how nutrients could be effectively managed, and to pro vide their opinions to their legislators. Miller said that at least one researcher has estimated that if nutrient management legislation A New View Of Rootworm Control Now’s the time to look at rootworm control in a whole new way. Only LORSBAN* 15G granular insecticide gives you the rootworm control you’re looking for, yet is one of the least hazardous to handle of all soil insec ticides. 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The law would create a Nutrient Management Advisory Board to the commission to review and comment on all regulations, criteria and policies the commis sion proposes. Also, the law would establish a limit for penalties for failure to comply with the regulations that could not exceed $5OO per offense. But the legislation leaves inter pretation of how the penalties are to be meted out up to the commission. As written, the law would allow local municipalities to create and enforce their own nutrient man agement regulations, as long as they are not inconsistent with the plant insecticide with a CAUTION signal word and is not Restricted Use. For a new view of rootworm control, as well as control of other crop-damaging insects, see your ag chemical dealer for LORSBANISG. 15G state law. However, there has been some question as to what “inconsistent” would legally mean. One interpretation offered is that a local ordinance would be consistent with the law if it were more restrictive, as long as it were not more liberal. The fear is that farmers would be subject to the possibility of municipalities creating ordinances with the real intent of driving cer tain farms out of the community for reasons other than poor nutrient management. The wording in the proposed law regarding that provision is under scrutiny, since it was agreed during hearings that the intent of the law is to prevent local munici palities from creating tough, prohi bitively expensive and complex local laws that would drive farmers out of business. Schmidt said that if the legisla tion were changed to ban local enforcement and ordinances con cerning nutrient management, the Sierra Club would not endorse the legislation. They would continue to support the legislation, however if the wording required local ordi nances to minor exactly the state law no more liberal and no DowElanco 9002 Purdue Road Indianapolis, IN 46268-1189 Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 8, 1992-Al9 more restrictive. Other potential problems with the legislation as approved by the House include the definition of an agricultural operation, which, as worded, would include any size crop, livestock or poultry produc tion operation ranging from raising a handful of rabbits or keeping a summer garden to large, animal-dense commercial operations. No distinction is technically made between hobby, or own-use production and commercial operations. Technically, as written, HB 496 could affect more than commercial farming. Also offering a potential prob lem is the standard for stocking . rate. The proposed law creates a stan dard for stocking rate that is based on something called an “animal equivalent unit.” And animal equivalent unit is defined as 1,000 pounds live weight of any livestock or poultry, regardless of species, breed or number of animals. Under the guidelines provided, those who would wish to own or raise livestock at a density of more than two animal units per acre would have to submit a nutrient management plan for review and approval by the local conservation district. For poultry, the rate is one unit per acre. The proposal leaves room for the commission to create its own regulations. However, the commission is bound to follow DER s lead under the legislation because it would only be able to create regulations that follow the DER publication, “Manure Management For Envir onmental Protection.” The publication was orginally developed to serve as an educational tool for farmers, according to Miller, who had helped create the educational manual. However, Miller and her boss. Sen. Edward Hel fnck, chairman of the committee, have said they are currently not seeking to discuss the specifics of HB 496. but rather, they said they are still open to hear other alternatives to nutrient management Toward that effort.the Senate ag committee has scheduled a public hearing on Feb. 12 at Blooms burg State College in Columbia County to hear testi mony on the issue. It is to be held in the Forum Room, located on the third floor of the McCormick Human Services Building. Professional representatives are discouraged from giving testimony. The purpose is to hear testimony from practicing farmers about nutrient mangement in general, not HB 496. However, those reviewing HB 496 may want to also consider • Funding from the state to support the program has been eliminated by Gov. Casey, even when it was budgeted. • Research programs seeking better methods of determining nutrient load at a farm are being deve loped at Penn State University, but funding has been slashed. Potential new methods would use the amount of feed purchased by a farmer during a nor mal year to determine whether or not excessive nutrients are being concentrated at a specific site and need to be managed properly. • Manure application reccommendations included in the DER manual were based on applica tion rates which are more than 20 years old. The diets of livestock and poultry have changed signific antly since then, therefore the nutrient contents have changed. Obstensibly, since food is being more effi ciently used, there should be less average nutrient value to modem manure compared to that produced more than 20 years ago. • Nutrient testing methods were just developed and significant changes can be expected to come soon, pending adequate funding of research. • The state is under a signed agreement with Maryland and Virginia to permanently reduce the volume of nitrogen into the Chesapeake by 40 per cent by the year 2000. If an effective nutrient man agement law doesn’t go into effect soon, that 40-percent reduction goal may be unattainable.
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