A new state law kicks in Dec. 21, limiting the land application of liquid manure on snow-covered ground to emergency situations.
The law does not apply to manure from open feedlots or dry manure. It applies to confinement (totally roofed) facilities with liquid manure that have 500 or more animal units. Generally, 500 animal units would be 1,250 finishing hogs; 5,000 nursery pigs; 500 steers, immature dairy cows or other cattle; or 357 mature dairy cows.
“However, all livestock and poultry producers need to protect water at all costs,” said Gene Tinker, DNR coordinator of animal feeding operations. “All producers must prevent pollution as they land apply manure.” Read more…
AMES, Iowa — Commercial manure applicators can attend three hours of annual training to meet commercial manure applicator certification requirements on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010. Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will conduct a Commercial Manure Applicator Satellite uplink from 9 a.m. to noon. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. There is no fee for the workshop but applicators must register by Dec. 31 with the ISU Extension county office where they plan to attend. A complete list of county extension offices offering this workshop can be found at:
http://www.agronext.iastate.edu/immag/certification/10macprogrampostcard.pdf.
Commercial manure applicators wishing to recertify and those wanting to certify for the first time should attend. The workshop will provide the required three hours of annual training and will cover applicator rules, manure application on snow-covered and frozen ground, liability issues and manure impacts on tile drainage. In addition, video from the 2009 Manure Expo will feature personal safety and manure spill response safety as part of the required programming. Read more…
On December 9, 2009, the Amana Farms Renewable Energy Center and Iowa State University Extension will be holding the education outreach program “On-Farm Anaerobic Digestion: Considering the Options”. The program will be held at the Iowa Artists Theatre Co. in the Amana Colonies, and it will be followed by a digester tour at the Renewable Energy Center.
The three hour program beginning at 9:00 a.m. will contain information on the Amana Farms beef manure digester including goals and objectives, design and installation, and the farm’s experiences; feasibility considerations for on-farm manure digesters; manure digester opportunities in Iowa; and digester methane production for carbon credits.
Read more…
Livestock producers and service providers can receive training on how to use the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation 2 (RUSLE2) and the Iowa Phosphorus Index for use in nutrient management and manure management plans at workshops being offered by Iowa State University Extension and the Iowa Manure Management Action Group (IMMAG), in collaboration with the Iowa USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The workshop will be held on Dec. 17 at the Borlaug Learning Center, located on the Northeast Iowa Research and Demonstration Farm near Nashua, Iowa. The workshop starts at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. It is an introductory level, hands-on workshop that will provide the participant with software orientation. Read more…
News reports have surfaced again detailing flash fires and explosions in livestock buildings while liquid pit manure was being agitated and pumped. Iowa State University Extension agricultural engineers say these episodes highlight the caution needed when agitating and pumping manure from pits beneath buildings.
Liquid manure in pits undergoes slow decomposition which creates several gases including methane and hydrogen sulfide, both of which are flammable. The rate of gas release from the manure can be drastically increased when the manure is agitated (stirred) during pumping. This increase is especially true for hydrogen sulfide, which can have a lethal paralyzing effect in addition to being flammable. Read more…