Index:
Manure management for Water Quality
North Carolina Legislative Vote Near on Hog Lagoons
Environmentalists to be hog-tied by privacy law?
Clean Environment Commission (CEC) Hearings
Red on top 10 list of worst rivers
The Red River is one of the 10 waterways most threatened
New Phosphorus Study Offers Insights into Current Water Quality Issues
Group wants more studies, hearings on potential impact of second shift
at Maple Leaf slaughterhouse

MANURE MANAGEMENT FOR WATER QUALITY: COSTS TO ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS OF APPLYING MANURE NUTRIENTS TO LAND

Click for full report
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aer824/
Nutrients from livestock and poultry manure are key sources of water pollution. Ever-growing numbers of animals per farm and per acre have increased the risk of water pollution. New Clean Water Act regulations compel the largest confined animal producers to meet nutrient application standards when applying manure to the land. The additional costs for managing manure have implications for feedgrain producers and consumers as well. This report's farm-level analysis examines on farm technical choice and producer costs across major U.S. production areas. A regional analysis focuses on off-farm competition for land to spread surplus manure, using the Chesapeake Bay region as a case study. Finally, a sectorwide analysis addresses potential long-term structural adjustments at the national level and ultimate costs to consumers and producers.
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North Carolina Legislative Vote Near on Hog Lagoons
Read the bills:
S 593       H 1113
Representative Pryor A. Gibson, III (Dem)
(the prime sponsor, not Nasbitt or Nesbitt)
NC State University  - lagoons

(Charlotte News Observer 6/18)

The House approved S 593 on Wednesday, a bill which would extend the current moratorium on building or expanding industrial hog farms until 2007, four years longer than called for in the original moratorium. The moratorium was put into effect in 1997 after a hog farm's lagoon burst, spilling 25 million gallons into the New River. The moratorium is necessary, according to the bill's sponsor, to allow researchers at NC State University to find alternatives to the current methods of waste disposal. A separate bill, H 1113, sponsored by Rep. Nasbitt, which calls for the eradication of the lagoons, was heard in committee. Critics of the moratorium contend it is a toothless reaction to a serious pollution problem and allows time for continued inaction. H 1113 calls for lagoons to be eradicated by 2008 or ten years after the lagoon was opened -- whichever date is the earliest. Rep. Nasbitt contends that if a deadline was in place there would be greater motivation to find a solution.
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Environmentalists to be hog-tied by privacy law?
Privacy, not patriotism, is now the last defence of scoundrels

On-Farm Burial of Dead Stock (51Kb .pdf file)
Composting of Large Dead Stock (531 Kb .pdf file)
Location of Permitted Manure Storage Facilities as at February 2003
Obtaining a permit to construct, modify or expand a manure storage facility
Manure Management Plan (126 Kb .doc file)
Manure Management Plan (151 Kb .pdf file)
Proceedings of the Agricultural Phosphorous Symposium 2003
Agricultures Manure Management Planner Enforcement Activity Reports
1998 - 1999 (17 Kb pdf file)
1999 - 2000 (21 Kb pdf file)
2000 - 2001 (28 Kb pdf file)
2001 - 2002 (32 Kb pdf file)
http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/regoperations/livestock/

WINNIPEG - CBC has learned the province's privacy watchdogs are reviewing a Manitoba Conservation Web site. Manitoba Conservation publishes annual "enforcement activity reports" on its Web site. They include the names of every person or business charged with an environmental infraction and details on the infraction. Government officials are reviewing the site to decide if it contravenes privacy laws.

Many of the offences are livestock-related, such as allowing manure to enter waterways. Hog industry critics say the province must continue to publish the names of offenders, if it doesn't want to see even more violations. Fred Tait, president of HogWatch Manitoba, says publishing the names of offenders acts as a deterrent. "Peer pressure is a very effective method of disciplining people in our society," he says. • Conservation Minister will fight to keep names public

• Tait says without the threat of public disclosure, hog producers will have little incentive to obey the law, and violations will increase. "In most cases there isn't fines, it's just an issue of issuing an order to comply, and where I do see fines, they're so miniscule you can't say the fines themselves are a deterrent," he says. It's the identification of the violator that appears to be the only deterrent, so if we take that away, I don't see there is a deterrent anymore."

Hog producers want their names blacked out on the online report. Kerry Church is a manager with Puratone, a large farm near Niverville that chalked up three violations in the last report, didn't receive any fines. Church insists legal penalties are sufficient. "We have an Environment Act. We have regulations. We don't need any additional pressure," she says. Conservation Minister Steve Ashton says the names must stay.

"I think the public has a right to know," he says. He says he'll fight any ruling to have violators' names removed ­ and if he's forced to remove them, he'll devise another way to keep that information in the public arena. Provincial officials say they don't know when the privacy review will be complete.

Copyright © 2003 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved
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Clean Environment Commission (CEC) Hearings
on the expansion of the Maple Leaf Pork Plant and City of Brandon Wastewater Treatment Facility - Update

The scope of the hearings have been expanded to include environmental impacts related to Maple Leafs (Elite Swine) pig production.

The CEC hearings will reconvene on Tuesday, July 15th at the Red Oak Inn in Brandon, Manitoba.

Anyone can make a 15 to 20 minute presentation on the matter, but you have to register first by contacting:

Rory Grewar, Secretary CEC 204-945-0090 or 1-800-597-3556 or rgrewar@gov.mb.ca

Enclosed are some stories relating to the first round of the hearings.

Thursday, June 26 - Brandon Sun

By Curtis Brown
The question of debating some or all of the impact Maple Leaf's second shift will have on the region will be settled today. After hearing two hours of testimony yesterday afternoon, the four-member Clean Environment Commission panel deliberated on the request brought by the Westman Action Coalition to talk about hog production and social impacts the second shift and its possible 900 jobs will have. The panel will tour Maple Leaf's existing wastewater treatment plant this morning and is expected to have a decision on the scope of the hearings when they reconvene at 1 p.m. this afternoon.
"We will tour the facility and huddle so we can wrestle with the issue of scope," says CEC chair Terry Duguid. "We'll be busy people (this morning)." The city of Brandon and Maple Leaf Pork made an application to the provincial government to expand and put in new technology at the industrial wastewater treatment plant to accommodate the slaughter of 18,000 pigs per day at the east end plant. The Westman Action Coalition argued that because Maple Leaf's second shift would likely lead to more pigs being produced locally, the impact of hog production on Manitoba should also be discussed.
Brandon University philosophy student Adam Schneider argues the Maple Leaf plant is a "causal nexus," meaning its presence affects a variety of other areas now and in the future. "We must discuss the cumulative effects of this. It's our only chance to review all of the relevant issues," Schneider says. The WAC was given about $35,000 in participant funding to take part in these hearings. John Stephaniuk, the legal counsel for Maple Leaf and the city of Brandon, says the terms of reference for the CEC hearing were very clear and that the scope of discussions should stay on the expansion to the wastewater plant. "The issues raised by the participants go well beyond the wastewater treatment plant.
They're raising issues dealing with the livestock industry as a whole...and provincial water issues in relation to livestock production," says Stephaniuk. "These are all several steps removed from what the application is before the commission." The provincial conservation department supported Stephaniuk, saying their minister is asking the commission to focus on the environmental impact an expanded wastewater treatment plant with new technology will have on the Assiniboine River. Larry Strachan, the director of approvals for Manitoba Conservation, says debate on livestock practices is addressed by a recent review of the provincial livestock operation regulations.
"In my mind, the terms of reference do not require information on intensive livestock operations," Strachan says. "Specific regulation processes are in place and work well for intensive livestock operations." Bill Paton, a professor at Brandon University and member of the Coalition, argues that those concerns were never addressed in the first place and need to be dealt with now. The previous Progressive Conservative government did an environmental impact study but did not hold a Clean Environment hearing when Maple Leaf first applied for an operating license five years ago. Because of that, Paton says the commission should play catch-up and look at those factors before approving a second shift.
"Many issues around the first shift were never addressed in a critical fashion by a body like this," Paton says. Maple Leaf's original license gave them approval to have two shifts, but the review is being done because the additional shift requires an upgrade to the wastewater facility. The city and Maple Leaf began presenting their case yesterday and will finish their testimony this afternoon. The hearing, which is being held at the Royal Oak Inn, will also continue tonight and possibly extend until tomorrow. cbrown@brandonsun.com

Friday, June 27 - Brandon Sun

Group wants more studies, hearings on potential impact of second shift

By Curtis Brown The door has opened a crack for the Westman Action Coalition and now the hog industry watchdog is trying to break it down by asking for a second round of Clean Environment Commission hearings over Maple Leaf Pork's proposal for a second shift. Yesterday the four-person CEC panel ruled in favour of the Westman Coalition, allowing the environmental hearings to include debate on increased hog production and social conditions due to increased production at Maple Leaf, which is expected to kill 18,000 pigs a day after the second shift is up and running.
After the ruling the WAC went further, asking for the city - which would expand its wastewater treatment plant to accomodate the second shift - and Maple Leaf to pay consultants to get concrete answers on social conditions and hog production, a move which could set back Maple Leaf's plans by months. "We have to guarantee all the information is in front of us," says Glen Koroluk, a presenter with the WAC and member of Hog Watch Manitoba, an industry watchdog group. "It's important we take a look at this and we first need information before we can logically debate it and come to an objective report."
Maple Leaf and the city, meanwhile, are syaing they can answer the group's questions now without the delay the WAC is proposing. The coalition is asking for a socioeconomic impact assessment, a study on increased hog production due to the second shift and numbers for a study on water flow into the Assiniboine River. They want funding from the government for their own evaluation of the data and are asking the CEC to hold a second round of hearings after letting the coalition study the new information for at least 45 days. John Stephaniuk, the city and Maple Leaf's lawyer, wants to answer the group's questions and get the hearing finished by today, when it is scheduled to end.
"I want to say emphatically that the proponent wants to continue with the proceedings and answer questions to the best of our ability," he says. "The proponent has no interest in delaying matters." Officials from the provincial conservation department concur with Stephaniuk, saying they cannot study potential hog production due to the second shift without knowing first where the barns would be located. "The impact on additional hog production is currently unknown. The reason is we have no idea where the production will occur. Until you know, it's quite difficult to assess the impacts," says Larry Strachan, the licensing director for Manitoba Conservation.
Testimony continues this morning at 9 a.m., with the panel expected to announce its decision on the WAC motion at that time. Barry Cullen, the president of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, took the stand at the hearing and said the business lobby wants the second shift to be approved "in a timely manner." Bill Paton, a botanist at Brandon University and member of the WAC, asked Cullen whether the Chamber supports the city using taxpayer money to pay for the plant. The cost of the plant, estimated at $15 million, is being negotiated between Maple Leaf, the city and the province. Cullen says he agrees with whatever the city's elected officials decide to do. "This is a vote of support to the leaders we've elected," he says. The panel spent most of Wednesday and most of yesterday afternoon listening to testimony from several experts Maple Leaf and the city retained to work on the proposed wastewater plant. Lawrence Novachis of Zenon Technology walked the panel through the technology which would run the expanded plant, which is expected to product 293 cubic metres of sludge per day. Zenon did a pilot test of their technology at the existing wastewater plant in teh winter, using a water flow of about one gallon per minute, and found their system should be able to take out 92 to 95 per cent of the nitrogen out of the wastewater. North/South Consultants also did a study of the water in the Assiniboine River and how increased effluent would affect concentrations of ammonia, nitrogen, phosphorous and algae. Their study found taht cehmical levels spike near the wastewater plant but settle out as the water flows between Brandon and Portage la Prairie. cbrown@brandonsun.com

Saturday, June 28

By Curtis Brown Steve Leblanc and other Maple Leaf Pork officials are breathing easier today after learning they will not have to go through a second round of environmental hearings which would push their plans for a second shift back several months. The Clean Environment Commission, which held hearings in Brandon this week to examine Maple Leaf's proposal to slaughter 18,000 pigs per day at its Brandon plant, ruled yesterday that Maple Leaf and the city will not need to do studies on economic and social conditions related to having an extra kill shift and increased hog production.
Instead, the four-member panel will try to schedule an extra day of testimony within the next three weeks so Maple Leaf and the city can answer some of the questions put forward by the Westman Action Coalition, a community group opposed to expanded production at the hog plant and in the area. Leblanc says the ruling is a relief because it allows the company and the city to stay on schedule with plans to go to a second shift and expand the industrial wastewater treatment plant while they wait for a ruling from the CEC. "We have to start working on our plans for the near future.
It's nice to get this ruling and we're confident something will be back in the next month or so," says Leblanc, the plant's human resources director. "We're on a critical path right now. If the decision was delayed, it would put things back. Our schedule for implementation is very tight." Maple Leaf hopes to have a second shift, with potentially 900 more full-time workers, operating by the fall of 2004. The CEC has 90 days from the end of the hearings to make a recommendation to Conservation Minister Steve Ashton on expanding the wastewater plant for runoff from an extra shift.
The Westman Coalition was asking the CEC to re-open the hearings after this week so the plant and the city could do a full study on the impacts a second shift would have. Yesterday, the coalition began making its presentation to the panel. Glen Koroluk painted a bleak picture of what the hog industry has done for Manitoba, saying expanded slaughterhouses and more intensive livestock operations could lead to a number of social and environmental costs such as pollution, injury and illness.
"It's unfortunate these are the jobs we are promoting today," Koroluk, a member of hog industry watchdog Hog Watch Manitoba, says of slaughterhouse and hog barn jobs. Leblanc says the WAC is making "blanket statements" and that Maple Leaf's situation is better than what Koroluk is saying. "We think we have a lot of good things to say on the labour side, but of course we want to work on improving socioeconomic conditions," he says. Maple Leaf's panel of experts also took the stand yesterday morning to defend the design for the proposed expansion to the wastewater treatment plant.
Dr. Troy Vassos asked the designers of the plant why they would change the technology used to filter out solid matter and claim to be able to reduce nitrogen and phosphate levels being put into the Assiniboine River when the membranes used for filtration cannot collect gases. Panel member John Whitaker also wondered if the city will be able to take gases produced in the wastewater facility and share with them with companies like Simplot, which produces nitrogen fertilizer. "As a farmer, I hate to see waste," Whitaker says.
City engineer Ted Snure says Simplot uses a different process to produce nitrogen but that the question of whether methane or nitrogen can be used for a different purpose is definitely worth exploring. The panel questioning capped a day's worth of presentations on how the new wastewater facility would impact the environment. Leblanc says the hearing process was an example of Maple Leaf and the city being diligent, but Brandon University philosophy student Adam Schneider questioned whether their environmental impact studies provide a clear enough glimpse on the total impact of a proposed second shift. "Rigorous science is what is required in this because we are dealing with a very large development," he says. The hearings ended yesterday with an overview by Manitoba Conservation officials on hog production in the province. cbrown@brandonsun.com

SPRINGHILL FARMS

Wed. June 25

Layoffs threaten Neepawa economy

By Curtis Brown

NEEPAWA - Like a dark thundercloud, uncertainty hangs over this agricultural community and its 3,500 people after the town's largest employer announced most of its employees could be laid off by Friday. Springhill Farms' decision to indefinitely lay off more than 300 people due to conditions in the hog industry touches the employees and their families, but also has a deep effect on just about everyone in this community and the surrounding area.
"Go to the grocery store, the hardware store, the pharmacy, you'll hear the same thing," says Darren Rogowski, the owner of a hotel and bar on Mountain Avenue, Neepawa's commercial strip. "It's economics. Without people having income, you're not able to spread it around." Rogowski has seen his share of long faces since the layoffs were announced Monday morning. "There was a group here hanging their heads down pretty low. I don't think people have come to grips with it yet," he says as a group of Springhill employees sit at their stools. They declined to be interviewed by the Sun.
A combination of low profit margins for pork processors, a strong Canadian dollar, the outbreak of mad cow disease and a labour dispute at a Winnipeg pork processor led to the layoffs, plant manager Bill Teichroew says. Right now there is a silver lining in the dark cloud, though - Springhill Farms could keep about 120 of its 400 employees working as Maple Leaf Pork and its employees at a Winnipeg processing plant agreed to a new contract yesterday. "Once we receive confirmation, we can rescind the layoff notice and start killing for them again," says Teichroew.
The Neepawa slaughterhouse kills pigs for Maple Leaf and sends them to the Winnipeg plant to be processed. But that still leaves several employees facing the prospect of being out of the work. And Jessica Henneberry knows she's one of the lucky ones. The new mother moved to Neepawa with her parents from Nova Scotia a few years ago, as her family came west to look for a job and ended up at Springhill. Recently, her parents went back to Nova Scotia and Henneberry knows how hard it would have been to make ends meet if her parents were still at the plant. "I think what's happened is terrible for the town. It's one of the big livelihoods and a reason why people move to town," Henneberry says. "What can you do? That's what my mom said when we talked about this? What would we do when you have mortagage and car payments to make?"
Business owners haven't seen the effects of the shutdown will have on the town yet, but they hope things won't be too bad. "I couldn't even say what will happen," says Dean Tremiane, the owner of the Chicken Corral restaurant. "It could have a big impact, maybe not. I don't know yet...I would be able to tell you better three weeks from now."

Glen Tibbett deals with farmers in the area through the feed mill he works at in Neepawa. He says producers don't know for sure yet how this latest blow to the livestock industry will affect agricultural-related businesses. The problems in the pork industry come on the heels of the discovery of the mad cow scare, which affects beef producers since the US border is closed to their animals after a cow infected with the brain-wasting disease was found in Saskatchewan.

Jennifer Scott, who lives on a cattle farm near Glenella, east of Neepawa, is feeling the effects of mad cow.
But she also feels for the families of people at the hog plant, many of whom also come from her community and from several others throughout the area. "There's a lot of people who drive into work there," she says. It's too early to know yet what the final effect of this layoff will have on Neepawa and its citizens. For now, Rogowski says people just have to get their heads around what has happened. "If 400 people work at that plant, you're talking about 10 per cent of teh town. Take their wives and families into it, that's something like 30 per cent," he says. "It's very depressing and concerning."
cbrown@brandonsun.com
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Red on top 10 list of worst rivers

Sewage, hog industry endanger waterway

Monday, July 7th, 2003

By David Kuxhaus

AN environmental watchdog has named the Red River among the top 10 endangered rivers in the country for 2003.

The report was released yesterday by EarthWild International and Wildcanada.net.

Among the threats to the Red River is the discharge of sewage from several urban centres.

Last fall, 427,000 cubic metres of raw sewage was dumped in the Red River after a valve malfunctioned at the North End Water Pollution Control Centre.

The City of Winnipeg is facing charges under the Fisheries Act.

The report also notes the strain placed on the waterway by the expanding hog industry which has resulted in increased phosphorous and nitrogen loads. There's been several large pig manure spills in the last couple of years as a result of holding tanks breaking open.

And finally the report flags the continued loss and drainage of wetlands within the watershed that alters the flow and increases flood stages.

"Although rivers are a vital element of Canada's natural and cultural wealth, our stewardship of these waterways often falls short of our aspirations," said David Boyd, environmental lawyer and chair of the Endangered Rivers Committee.

Yesterday, Patrick and Sylvia Doyle launched their boat into the Red from St. Vital Park. It's the second time in the last few weeks they've used the river to test out a finicky motor Patrick's been tinkering with.

But it's not their waterway of choice.

"I wouldn't use it if I didn't have to," he said. "The last time, I put it back in my garage and the whole place stunk so badly that I had to scrub (the boat) down. The river's filthy. There's garbage floating around."

According to the report, at the top of the endangered list is the Petitcodiac River in New Brunswick.

The report claims the river has been under threat for decades partly because of a causeway that it says is clogging the river's powerful tidal bore.

In second place are the Eastmain and Rupert rivers which the group says are threatened as part of a Hydro Quebec's extensive dam developments.

"With its latest assault on the Eastmain and Rupert rivers, Hydro Quebec is trying to turn back the clock to a time when widespread environmental devastation was just the cost of doing business," said Boyd. "But the era of large dams in Canada is supposed to be over, ended by recognition of compelling scientific evidence about the negative impacts on fish, wildlife and the health of aboriginal people. We need to focus on developing clean, low-impact renewable energy, not destructive megaprojects."

The Doer government is hoping to build a huge dam on the Churchill River to cash in on the lucrative southern Ontario market.

Earthwind International was founded in 1994 and works closely with aboriginal communities with a concentration in British Columbia, Alaska and the Northwest Territories. Wildcanada.net is a national non-profit group that works to protect wildlands and wetlands.

david.kuxhaus@freepress.mb.ca
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The Red River is one of the 10 waterways most threatened by human activity, according to a list drawn up by Vancouver-based EarthWild International. The environmental group lists the Red as number eight on its list of endangered rivers in Canada. EarthWild executive director Nola Poirier says all urban rivers suffer exposure to sewage, including hazardous materials such as oils and solvents – but the Red is also threatened by agricultural development.
"One of the big ones is the rapid expansion of the hog industry in Manitoba and that's increasing the phosphorus and nitrogen levels in the water," she says. "Also the drainage of wetlands that just keeps happening to irrigate the agricultural fields that are nearby, that's also causing a lot of problems for the Red River." Poirier explains how the Red made it on to the group's list:
"We call out for nominations for rivers from across the country, looking for community groups, aboriginal people, environmental groups, individuals, anyone who wants to nominate a river. They fill out a form explaining the ecology of the river, the area it goes through, the threats to the river, and some action plans that they have that being on this list would help them further."
Poirier says the group will release an action plan outlining ways to help the Red later on Monday. Other rivers on the list include the Okanagan River in B.C. and the Milk and Bow rivers in Alberta.
Red River Action Centre
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New Phosphorus Study Offers Insights into Current Water Quality Issues

Summary: http://www.manure.mb.ca/projects/completed/02-hers-01.htm

The complete study report is available at http://www.manure.mb.ca/projects/completed/pdf/02-hers-01.pdf

Winnipeg MB, July 9, 2003 -- Researchers looking into water quality issues affecting Lake Winnipeg and southern Manitoba water sources now have access to comprehensive information on phosphorus (P), its value in crop production, its origins in livestock manure and its implications as one of the major contributors to poor water quality.

The new $80,000 study was initiated by the Manitoba Livestock Manure Management Initiative (MLMMI) and co-funded by the Initiative, the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council (MRAC) and the Sustainable Development Innovation Fund. It was carried out by a team headed by Dr. Don Flaten, of the Department of Soil Science at The University of Manitoba, is based largely on existing data but assembles this information to create a comprehensive profile on where the P in Manitoba's rivers and lakes comes from, what can be done to reduce agriculture's contribution to the problem, how P behaves in the environment and what other jurisdictions in Canada, the U.S. and internationally are doing to regulate it.

Dr. Flaten stresses the team's findings should in no way be considered a 'finger-pointing exercise'. "We have no intention of blaming any particular sector of society for the problem," he says.

The first two parts of the four-part study include a detailed examination of where the P in the lakes, rivers and streams draining southern Manitoba's watershed is coming from and a series of recommendations on how livestock producers can reduce their contribution to the problem.

Dr. Ken Snelgrove, a University of Manitoba civil engineer who worked on the P sources part of the study, says no new testing was done to measure P levels in various water courses. Rather, researchers compiled and cross-referenced information from existing sources to develop a detailed profile of where P entering Lake Winnipeg is coming from. He points out that factors such as rainfall levels, snowmelt and even the effects of currents in various river sections can result in variations in P levels from one year to another.

The data show that, on average, the Red River is a relatively small contributor (8%) to the water flow into Lake Winnipeg compared to the Saskatchewan and Winnipeg rivers. Despite that, it accounts for 73% of the P load discharged into the lake. "At the same time, says Snelgrove, "59% of the P load in the river was already there when the river crossed the U.S. border at Emerson. And that number is backed up by three independent studies, including one by the U.S. Geological Survey."

He says that, of the remaining 41% of P originating in the Canadian part of the Red River watershed and discharging into Lake Winnipeg, 12% to 17% can be attributed to agriculture, 13% to 15% to natural sources, and 11% to 14% to direct wastewater discharges from municipal and private sewage lagoons and waste water treatment plants throughout the drainage area.

The study suggests the area between Winnipeg and Selkirk is a major contributor to the problem. Waste water discharges from sewage treatment plants in both cities contribute to the Red River's P load. In addition, the area is home to an intensive market garden industry. "Besides that," says Snelgrove, "it's fairly densely populated which means higher risk of septic tank leaks and riverbank erosion that contributes to the P load in the river." He says that, taking all these sources into account but excluding the contribution of the Assiniboine River at Headingly, the area contributes 20% of the Red River's P load into Lake Winnipeg.

The researchers were not able to apportion the P load attributable to agriculture to specific sources but cited other data that indicate about 18% of the P applied to Manitoba soils originates from the application of manure.

The P problem is compounded by the fact that, in Manitoba, manure application recommendations are currently based on balancing the crop's nitrogen (N) needs but, because the N:P ratio of manure samples is sometimes out of balance with the N:P needs of crops, the result is a surplus of P in some soils. Some jurisdictions, the researchers point out, already have adopted a P-based manure application system. Others, including Manitoba, are considering making the change. Since livestock production is increasing quickly in Manitoba, the researchers suggest the industry's contribution to P loading may also be increasing, a fact which underlines the importance of more research into ways to reduce the amount of phosphorus entering water supplies.

The second part of the study, undertaken by Dr. Katherine Buckley at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Centre at Brandon, focused on finding ways to reduce the amount of P contributed by animals. Her research suggests improving feed efficiency (reducing the amount of feed required to produce unit of weight gain) can cut the amount of P excreted by animals. Other techniques offering P-reducing potential include the use of feed additives and feed processing technologies that reduce the total P being offered to livestock.

Dr. Buckley says one technique that merits further investigation is the addition of phytase to hog rations to increase P digestibility and reduce the amount excreted in the manure. "An increasing number of feed mills are adding phytase to their rations but there's no hard information on optimum levels," she says. "According to the published literature, there does not appear to be a proportional relationship between the amount of phytase added to the ration and phosphorus digestibility. There is some recent evidence that phytase could make the phosphorus in the manure more water-soluble. Then, depending on the soil types and topography of the fields where the manure is applied, there could be an increase in the risk of it entering water sources unless manure management practices are modified".

The third part deals with how P behaves in various soil types and under different climatic conditions and provides information that can lead to recommendations on how farmers can better manage their crops and livestock operations to reduce water contamination risks.

The study concludes with a detailed review on legislation regarding P management in place in other provinces, states and countries. It offers a series of recommendations on how Manitoba could develop more effective regulations through cooperation with U.S. jurisdictions and other federal and provincial government departments concerned with agricultural and environmental issues. But the researchers caution that any legislation regarding P management must be based on good science to ensure environmental protection without imposing undue hardship on farmers.
For information, please contact:

Ron Johnson Secretary Treasurer Manitoba Livestock Manure Management Initiative Inc. Telephone: (204) 945-0225 e-mail: rojohnson@gov.mb.ca

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Last updated:  July 11, 2003