Mike Stuck
Nutrient Management Specialist
Mifflin County Conservation District
Since the Nutrient Management Law was enacted in Oc
tober of 1997, approximately 20 Mifflin County farmers
have had nutrient management plans developed.
15 farms have been completed to meet Act 6 regulations,
while five have been developed voluntarily. Although these
numbers are not very high, it does not mean that Mifflin
County has not felt the affects of the law.
The majority of farms in the county are dairy operations.
At this point we have only one dairy operation that is con
sidered a concentrated animal operation (CAO) and has an
approved nutrient management plan. However, several of
the CAO’s in the county are dairy farmers that decided to
sell the cows and try either poultry houses or swine units of
some type. If this becomes a trend, our activity concerning
Act 6 will greatly increase.
Even though we have a relatively low number of CAO’s in
the county, public awareness concerning Act 6 seems to be
very high. For example, when citizens heard of a rather
large sow operation that was being proposed in their town
ship, a “concerned citizen’s group” was formed and actions
The Nutrient Management Law’s
Impact On Mifflin County Farmers
were set in motion to get the construction of the operation
stopped.
Public meetings were held, the issuance of building per
mits delayed, and even an environmental ordinance was en
acted. To date, construction of this large sow operation has
never started.
In other areas of the county where large confinement
buildings have already been constructed, different issues
have been raised. Emptying of the large manure storage
structures that usually accompany these facilities has cre
ated some public backlash.
The conservation district normally receives a handful of
complaints in the spring and in the fall regarding the
spreading of manure. After odor, which there is no control
over, spreading proximity to streams and property lines are
usually of greatest concern. Prior to Act 6, we rarely re
ceived a complaint related to manure spreading.
However, even with all the news articles, newsletters,
training seminars, and workshops that have been made
available, there are still people that have not heard of the
nutrient management law.
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