Very Helpful Paper on Managing Manure Under SGMA

Geoff Vanden Heuvel

Director of Regulatory and Economic Affairs

As implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) begins to impose real cuts in groundwater usage, dairy farmers are faced with the necessity of evaluating how their operations will cope with the new and coming realities. Innovative Ag Services, a long time Milk Producers Council associate member, has produced a very valuable white paper outlining options and opportunities. It is worth reading and maybe even printing out and keeping as a reference document. Many thanks to Nathan Heeringa, owner of Innovative Ag Services, for making this available. Check out a summary and a link to the guide below.

Manure Management Under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act

Courtesy of Innovative Ag Services

Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) need to take a comprehensive approach to manure management as they face limitations of farmland and irrigation water supply. As the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is being implemented at an increasing rate with the ongoing drought, the traditional manure management system of agronomically applying manure to fields with irrigation water will be restrictive and costly.

CAFO facilities should evaluate each step of manure management to find solutions to these complex challenges. Nitrogen and/or salts are often the limiting factor of manure management, and these elements should be tracked from the time they are brought to the facility to the time they are exported or applied back to the field.

Each CAFO facility is unique, so each step of a CAFO’s management should be evaluated with the management team and trusted partners to find solutions that work for each operation. Now, more than ever, it is important to be proactive in addressing the significant challenges that SGMA will have on your dairy or feedlot operation.

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