NEW DEP Regs Will Affect Ag Operations

Recent changes in Pennsylvania’s regulations and the Department of Environmental Protection’s policies will affect agricultural operations in Susquehanna County. These changes come under the “Clean Streams Law,” which affects all farms and non-farms producing or using manure.

All users and producers of manure are required to have a manure management plan. The plan must detail how you will protect surface and ground water. The plan must also address the amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus that could be applied per acre, set backs from surface and ground waters, winter application procedures, barnyard runoff, pastures and storage or stacking areas.

A certified planner is not required however there are some advantages to using a certified planner versus doing the plan yourself. By using a certified planner the restrictions of where and when manure can be spread is going to be significantly different than if a certified planner is hired to develop the manure management plan. For example, without a certified planner a 150 foot manure setback from all waters would be required. Whereas, if a planner is involved and if the proper conditions present themselves and the proper best management practices are installed, such as a 35 foot wide vegetated buffer is maintained around surface waters then a 35 foot setback would be sufficient to protect the water.

Even if you have been following the manure management manual and or the State Conservation Commissions ACT 38 regulations, there have been some changes made to the following items: allowable application rates, winter spreading procedures, year round manure application setbacks, barnyard runoff controls, manure storage, manure application records, infield stacking procedures and pasture stocking rates. These changes are still being finalized and manuals and guidance are not available in print. So, be aware that there may be more to come.

For more information contact the Willie Keeney, Susquehanna County Conservation District at 570-278-4600 ext. 284. To learn more details about this policy change attend a workshop at the Susquehanna County Dairy on Friday, March 4th at 10:30 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. in a classroom. All workshop attendees will receive a special Dairy Day gift for attending!

Learn Tools for Farm Financial Record Keeping during Webinar Series

Managing your farm’s financial records requires knowing which tools to use, and how best to use them.

The Agricultural Entrepreneurship Team of Penn State Extension will present the Managing Your Farm Recordkeeping Toolbox webinar series, starting January 26. This webinar series is designed for producers, financial managers, and bookkeepers. Participants will learn the principles of financial record keeping and how to obtain and interpret financial statements for better decision making.

Topics to be explored include the relationship between assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity and how to record transactions and financial statements using financial ratios. Instructors are: Penn State Cooperative Extension Educators Erin Cuprinka, Keith Dickinson, Mark Douglass, Robert Goodling, Andrew Martin, and Miguel Saviroff.

The webinar series will consist of seven weekly one-hour webinars. Participants will have the opportunity to do ‘homework’ between sessions to practice the skills learned during each webinar, and submit the homework to instructors for feedback. Participants can register for one session at a time, or the entire series for a discount. The cost to participants for this program is $20 per session or $100 for the entire series of seven webinars.

Advance registration is required. To register online or for more information on the program, refer to the following website: http://pafarmrecords.com/. Registration is available by phone by calling 1-877-489-1398 (toll free). For more information about the program, contact Mark Douglass in the Penn State Extension Office in Jefferson County, at 814-849-7361, or by email: mbd10@psu.edu.

This workshop is presented by the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Team, a Penn State Cooperative Extension initiative.