A34-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 8, 2002
PENNSTATE
College of Agricultural Sciences
1 8 S Si
From the Department of Dairy and Animal Science
This regular column from Penn State's Department of Dairy and
Animal Science features the research findings, student opportunities, and
reports on other important topics generated in the Department The
back issues of the column aie archived on Lancaster Farming’s
Internet www.lancasterfarming com home page Look for them
MAXIMIZING YOUR
INVESTMENTS:
ACHIEVING
ENVIRONMENTAL
EXCELLENCE
Virginia Ishler,
Robert Mikesell,
and Robert Meinen
Dairy Alliance And
Senior Extension Associates
Penn State
When nutrient management is
mentioned in most any context,
people immediately think of reg
ulations, manure handling and
storage, and unrealistic restric
tions basically, no positive as
sociations. If Pennsylvania’s
dairy industry is to grow as an in
dustry and allow persons to
maintain a profitable business,
then let’s set the example for en
vironmental stewardship by ex
ceeding the standards.
The means to achieve this can
be realistic, practical, and cost-ef
fective. The long-term benefits
can be improved public impres
sions of the importance of dairy
to Pennsylvania.
The unfortunate truth is the
majority of the population resides
in urban areas and has little
knowledge of what is involved in
production agriculture. What
they observe is at a distance and
the rule of thumb that “You have
only one chance to make a first
impression” is very true. Our goal
should be to make a great posi
tive impression.
During the past year, Pennsyl
vania has been advocating
PEACCE, a pilot-scale, environ
mentally proactive program for
livestock producers. The acro
nym stands for Pennsylvania En
vironmental Agricultural Conser
vation Certification of
Excellence. The unique aspect of
the program is that various state
organizations have come together
with a common goal to promote
environmentally safe agriculture
practices among livestock pro
ducers.
The sponsors are PennAg In
dustries Association, Pennsylva-
PMMB
Announces
Milk Price
HARRISBURG (Dau
phin Co.) The Penn
sylvania Milk Marketing
Board (PMMB) an
nounced the prices to be
paid to Pennsylvania
dairy farmers for May
Class I milk (beverage)
as an average of $15.31
in the western areas of
the commonwealth, and
an average of $15.80 in
the central and eastern
areas of the common
wealth. These prices in
clude the over-order pre
mium of $1.65 per
hundred weight of milk.
Farmers, whose milk
production is pooled
under a federal order,
will receive a marketwide
blend price based upon
the value of all classes of
milk. However, the blend
price received will vary
as the component com
position of a farmer’s
milk differs from the es
tablished benchmarks of
3.5 percent butterfat,
2.99 percent protein, and
5.69 percent other solids.
servation Districts, Pennsylvania
Department of Agriculture,
Pennsylvania Department of En
vironmental Protection, Pennsyl
vania Farm Bureau, Penn State
University, and USDA Natural
Resource Conservation Services
in Pennsylvania. PEACCE is a
four-level program that is avail
able to any livestock operation.
After a producer successfully
completes the certification, their
farm receives a sign display that
publicly recognizes their
achievement.
PEACCE is a consolidation of
programs developed by Penn
State, the National Pork Produc
ers Council, and Conservation
District personnel from Lancas
ter, Chester, and Berks counties.
The program is free, voluntary,
confidential, and applies to single
as well as multi-species opera
tions.
On July 23, 2002 the PEACCE
program will officially be re
leased to all Pennsylvania pro
ducers, with 20 pilot farms re
ceiving certification and a sign
for successfully completing the
program. This innovative pro
gram not only benefits the envi
ronment, but sends a very strong
and positive public message
about participating farms’ envi
ronmental stewardship practices.
To qualify for the PEACCE
program, producers must com
plete three steps. The first step of
the program is a one-day educa
tional program called the Penn
State Environmental Awareness
Course. The course addresses
current issues, regulations, and
common-sense practices in the
following areas:
1. Environmental awareness,
stewardship and sustainability.
2. Manure and nutrient appli
cation.
3. Odor, gaseous emissions,
and nuisance issues.
4. Environmental laws and
regulations in agriculture.
To date, 600 people have com
pleted the environmental aware
ness course. Two thirds have
been producers and one third
have been conservation district
and extension personnel. Approx
imate!' 25 xent of the animal
nia As
sociati
on of
Con-
operations have been dairies.
Step 2 of the program is the
nationally recognized On-Farm
Assessment and Environmental
Review (OFAER). America’s
Clean Water Foundation funds
this portion of the program that
is administered by Environ
mental Management Solutions,
LLC, of Des Moines, lowa. How
ever, Penn State coordinates as
sessment applications. This vol
untary, confidential,
nonregulatory program conducts
detailed on-farm assessments free
of charge.
Two third-party assessors,
trained to evaluate farms of spe
cific species, are assigned to the
farm. All biosecurity require
ments are followed by the asses
sors. The assessment identifies
environmental strengths and of
fers sensible recommendations
for improving environmental
challenges in the following areas:
1. Overall site appearance and
management.
2. Building management.
3. Manure storage manage
ment and effects of odors.
4. Mortality management.
5. Nutrient management
manure application.
Originally created to as
sess swine farms, OFAER’s
successful track record
prompted the 2001 adop
tion of the assessment by
other industries. One hun
dred-fifty Pennsylvania
livestock operations have
completed the second step
of the PEACCE program.
Twelve of the operations
have been dairies,
Producers who complete
the first two steps are eligi
ble to participate in the
final third step of the
PEACCE program: A con
servation checklist admin
istered by personnel from
the local conservation dis
trict. Trained technicians
from the county conserva
tion district and/or Penn
State Extension utilize a
standard, comprehensive
checklist to verify that the
producer has met
PEACCE requirements.
The district technician
will present checklist find
ings and recommendations
to the local conservation
board that either approves
or denies certification. All
sponsors of PEACCE are
represented on an industry
board that will administer
final approval. Upon certi
fication, the farm will re
ceive a sign and be publicly
recognized for meeting and
exceeding the environ
mental standards of the
Ei '■ dai
ations have successfully com
pleted the PEACCE program
and will receive certification on
July 23, 2002.
The fourth step of PEACCE is
maintaining certification by re
ceiving continuing education
credits and by participating in a
county conservation district sta
tus review. These steps are to be
completed every three years. The
Livestock and Poultry Environ
mental Stewardship Curriculum
(LPES) will be used as the contin
uing education tool and will be
adapted to specifically fit Penn
sylvania issues. LPES is a nation
al education program that has
been developed through the col
laborative effort of 15 land-grand
universities, the EPA Ag Center,
and the USDA. The educational
curriculum covers:
1. Environmental awareness.
2. Land application of manure
and whole farm nutrient plan
ning.
3. Outdoor air quality.
4. Manure storage systems.
5. Specie-specific dietary strat
egies to reduce nutrient excretion.
and
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PEACCE offers numerous
benefits to producers. It helps
identify potential environmental
challenges overlooked by produc
ers involved in day-to-day farm
activities, enriches and enhances
agriculture’s public image, and
promotes environmentally safe
agricultural practices.
The program may also mini
mize the risk of nuisance issues
and litigation.
Mark Wolfskill from Robeso
nia, who will receive his certifica
tion in July, summarized the pro
gram the best: “The time
involved in the program was
painless and I came away with
an improved awareness.”
If livestock producers lead by
example, then this is the first step
in encouraging others to take ad
vantage of the opportunities the
PEACCE program or other simi
lar programs can provide.
More information about the
program can found on Penn
State’s nutrient management
Website under dairy at http://
nutrient.psu.edu or by contacting
Robb Meinen at (814) 865-2987
or ijml34@psu.edu.
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