Manure rules hotly debated
By Jean Caspers-Simmet
Agri News
Date Modified: 01/29/2010 4:05 PM
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CALMAR, Iowa —Fort Atkinson dairy farmer Mark Schmitt remembers hearing a joke years ago that went something like this: A farmer gave his son his farm, and authorities charged him with child abuse.
"I actually believe that's a fact now," Schmitt said. "When I look at my sons and what they're going to have to do to stay farming with constant changing regulations, I would rather be charged with child abuse than DNR regulations."
Testifying at least week's hearing on proposed rules that restrict application of liquid manure on frozen or snow covered ground, Schmitt said that if new regulations don't cause him to go out of business, they will likely result in him cutting back on the 500-cow dairy that he operates with his sons Greg and Glen.
Two days before the hearing at the Dairy Center at Calmar, Iowa Department of Natural Resources officials came to Schmitt's farm and told him he had violated the new rules when he hauled manure a week earlier.
Rules banning surface applying liquid manure on snow covered ground between December 21 and April 1 for livestock operations like Schmitt's took effect in December.
Schmitt said there was no pollution as a result of his hauling manure. He has winter applied liquid manure for 32 years, and it has never caused runoff.
"Someone turned me in, and he didn't leave his name," Schmitt said.
Schmitt said he built his dairy operation in 1994 before there were rules requiring that he have a manure management plan or enough manure storage so that he didn't have to apply liquid manure during the winter.
"We followed all the rules that were in place at that time," he said.
Later, there were new regulations, but he understood that he did not have to have a manure management plan because he built before 1995.
Gene Tinker, animal feeding operation coordinator with the Iowa DNR, said the rules clearly state that Schmitt should have a manure management plan.
"State law was ignored," Tinker said.
Tinker said that if Schmitt had an emergency and needed to apply manure, he should have contacted the DNR field office, reported that he had to apply manure, where he was going to apply it and make note of that in his manure management plan.
"He doesn't have a manure management, and he should have had one," Tinker said.
Schmitt said Tinker told him that if he obtains a manure management plan and contacts the DNR, he will be allowed to haul manure this winter. He said he called two firms about developing a plan. He has all the soil samples and records of where he has applied manure.
He and his sons will wait to see if the Legislature changes the rule regarding having enough manure storage for December to April 1. If that isn't changed, they may depopulate from 500 to 350 cows, the size where they would not be subject to the new rule.
Schmitt said building storage to hold their herd's manure through the winter will cost $700,000. He and his sons don't think it's worth the investment with facilities that are 16 years old. They have considered new facilities at another location, but won't be in a position to do that for a few years.
Schmitt said he and his sons will be able to continue farming, but he's concerned about his 15 employees. With a smaller herd, he wouldn't be able to keep them all.
"My employees are very worried," he said.