OFFICIALS WARN OF "PERFECT STORM"
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 -- 11:27 AM
Wisconsin agriculture and natural resource officials are worried about a potential ?perfect storm? that could prevent farmers from properly managing manure in coming months. Jim VandenBrook is a water quality specialist with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. He says cool weather prevented farmers from getting crops off the fields as fast as usual. A lot of fields are still not ready for manure applications.
"A lot of the crops are still standing out in the field. When they're standing there, that means we have a lot of land that's not available to spread manure on. It's sitting in storage," VandenBrook notes.
Plus, officials have heard reports that financially-stressed farmers may be delaying emptying their storage structures as a cost-saving measure.
"It's not a good time. The problem is, the cost of moving manure is just as important as any other cost associated with running a farm. It's the cost of doing business," he says.
The potential consequences of putting off proper handling of manure can be far more devastating to a bottom line, VandenBrook warns.
There are resources to help.
"We always suggest the contact their local Land Conservation Department. You can get in touch with nutrient management planners, they can work on winter spreading plans, that sort of thing."
Almost half of 'Wisconsin's' dairy producers use storage and liquid manure sprading systems to efficiently handle and manage manure. The costs such systems range from $100 to $250 per cow per year.
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