Feedlot program Q&A
Question: What is the number of Commercial Animal Waste Technicians in Minnesota?
Answer following Calendar
Owners of feedlots that are required to be registered must update their registration once during every four-year cycle, beginning Jan. 1, 2002. The current four-year cycle began Jan. 2, 2010 and ends Jan. 1, 2014. Records show that about 12,000 feedlot owners (60% of the total statewide) have updated their registration for the current time period. Owners of feedlots with 10 or more animal units in shoreland or with 50 or more animal units outside of shoreland must meet this requirement.
Examples of feedlots that must be registered are a dairy operation that has more than 40 cows or a beef operation that has 10 or more steers and is within 300 feet of a river or 1,000 feet of a lake. The MPCA and counties delegated to administer state feedlot rules will be assisting in re-registration effort by sending out a registration update form to those who have previously registered but not registered since Jan. 1, 2010. Registrations are also updated every time a permit is issued to a feedlot or in certain instances after an inspection is conducted at a feedlot.
The two-page form takes only a few minutes to complete. The front is about site owner and location information. The back is to report the maximum number of animals, by type, that have been on the site at any one time in the past five years, and a signature.
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Many training opportunities for 2013
A variety of training opportunities for feedlot program staff in delegated counties have been scheduled for 2013. Interactive meetings held via desktop computers at individual locations are scheduled for Feb. 27, April 24, June 26, Aug. 28, Oct. 30, and Dec. 18. Regional meetings are scheduled May 8, Brainerd MPCA office; May 9, Marshall Pizza Ranch; May 15, Detroit Lakes MPCA office; and May 16, Owatonna Hyvee. Phosphorus Index training is scheduled for March 20, Sauk Centre City Hall; and March 27, New Ulm DNR conference room. The annual convention of the Minnesota Association of County Feedlot Officers is scheduled Oct. 14-16. The location will be announced. later.
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An updated version of the MPCA's Manure Management Plan spreadsheet has been posted on the feedlot program Nutrient and Manure Management webpage. The updates include:
- Added initial question when opening the program to make it easier to import data,
- Fixed error with record-keeping forms always displaying zero for manure remaining,
- Updated the transferred manure ownership forms to match hard copies,
- Made the add-ins tab display on startup of the program,
- Added help boxes on some sheets,
- Added a notes page,
- Created a helpful illustration of the correct way to save the program if the user attempts to save incorrectly,
- Replaced individual check boxes on the field info sheet with double-click check-mark cells instead, and
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Corrected an error with load in of records data not correctly updating on the crop info worksheet.
For more information, contact George Schwint, feedlot program engineer, 320-441-6971, george.schwint@state.mn.us
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Annual report forms for livestock farms with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits are now available on the MPCA feedlot program website. Completed forms are due Thursday, March 1. Links to the form are located on the feedlot program main page, and permits and forms webpage, or download the document.
The report has been revised to include the following two changes: 1) The time period for the entire report has been changed to a cropping year. The cropping year for this year's report is Sept. 1, 2011 to Aug. 31, 2012. 2) The complete manure application records for all transferred and non-transferred manure are now required to be submitted. As a result of these changes please ensure the newly revised annual report form is used. The form specifies the reporting period and includes the appropriate record keeping forms.
Paper copies of the report may be requested by contacting the MPCA regional offices. The office phone numbers are listed on page 5 of the report. For farms that do not transfer manure, land application records can also be generated using the MPCA excel based Manure Management Planner under Create Crop Year Records. These record forms may be used and submitted instead of the Records for 300 or More Animal Units form. A link to the planner is located on the feedlot program Nutrient and Manure Management webpage.
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University of Minnesota Extension is presenting workshops for livestock producers and ag professionals on the use of grid soil sampling to guide manure application. Grid soil phosphorus and potassium maps from Minnesota livestock farms are used to create manure application zones and manure exclusion zones within fields in order to maximize the economic value of the manure as a fertilizer replacement and minimize phosphorus in runoff. Determination of manure application rates and supplemental fertilizer where necessary are part of the demonstration and discussion. Eight case studies are posted on the UM Extension manure website, http://z.umn.edu/manure .
Since the number of workshops funded by the McKnight Foundation project grant is limited, we invite county feedlot officerss and NRCS/SWCD staff to attend one of the following workshops. The workshop presentation Powerpoint is available for those wishing to conduct their own workshops, and a few more workshops could be presented by Randy Pepin, UM Extension (pepin019@umn.edu).
Workshops have been held Feb. 12, 26, and 27. Remaining workshops and hosts are:.
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March 5: 11 a.m., Lake Crystal American Legion, Diane DeWitt, UM Extension.
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March 6: 1 p.m., Murray County Courthouse, Slayton, Mike Boersma, UM Extension.
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The Department of Agriculture announced a schedule of approved workshops providing required training for Commercial Animal Waste Technician licensing. Licenses are valid for three years; to renew your license, you must attend recertification workshops in at least two of those three years. The workshops are also open to the general public. Remaining Current Issues in Manure Management workshops are listed below. Contact organizers for registration details:
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Feb. 28: Mankato National Guard Armory, 11 a.m., SE Minnesota Feedlot Officers, Dan Vermilyea at 507-444-7488 or Dan.Vermilyea@co.steele.mn.us.
- March 6: Adrian, 9:30 a.m., Doug Bos, Rock Co. SWCD-Land Mgmt, 507-283-8862 x3 or douglas.bos@mn.nacdnet.net; Al Langseth, Nobles Co. Environmental, 507-295-5322 or alangseth@co.nobles.mn.us.
- March 15: Steele County fairgrounds, Owatonna, 12:30 p.m., SE Minnesota Feedlot Officers, Dan Vermilyea at 507-444-7488 or Dan.Vermilyea@co.steele.mn.us.
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A bill has been introduced in the state legislature that, if enacted, would affect requirements for Commercial Animal Waste Technician (CAWT) licensing. The agriculture budget bill, HF 473, includes a provision that all persons hired to apply animal waste, except for those working on land owned by their employer, must have a valid CAWT license. Currently, a license-holder may hire employees who are not licensed. In addition to being licensed, the bill states that applicators must work under the supervision of a CAWT-licensed site manager. The license would be valid for one year (currently three), and requires a minimum of two hours of training. Also, the bill states that "the license must appear on the application equipment when a person manages or applies animal waste for hire." Currently, there are 302 CAWTs licensed with the Department of Agriculture. The list is available on the MDA website's commercial applicator webpage.
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The last in a series of public listening sessions on the proposed development of the Minnesota Agriculture Water Quality Certification Program (MAWCP) will be 1-3 p.m., Feb. 28, at the MnDOT training center in St. Cloud, hosted by the Department of Agriculture. The concept behind MAWCP is that if farmers agree to conduct certain practices on their farms they would receive “certification” and not be subject to any additional regulations that will be developed and implemented by state agencies. The MDA and Gov. Dayton have requested $3 million from the Legislature to implement this program.
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New tool calculates air emissions treatment costs
National Hog Farmer, 2/19/13
Minnesota Milk president outlines state of state dairy industry
Agri-News, 2/13/13
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March 13-14: Midwest Poultry Federation Convention, St. Paul RiverCentre.
April 12: Commissioners' forum: Environmental priorities in 2013, Science Museum, St. Paul. Register with Environmental Initiative.
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Q&A answer: 302 (According to the Department of Agriculture website)
The MPCA Feedlot Update welcomes news submissifrom partners about, projects, people, and upcoming events. Email submissito forrest.peterson@state.mn.us. Please note that the MPCA has switched to a new service, called GovDelivery, to deliver the Feedlot Update. To ensure delivery of these messages, please add mpca@public.govdelivery.com to your address book or safe sender list. Past issues of Feedlot Update are available on the feedlot program publications webpage.
Forrest Peterson
Public Information Officer
MPCA-Willmar office
320-441-6972
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