Chapter 4.4. Manure Application and Alberta s Agricultural Operation Practices Act (AOPA) learning objectives

Transcription

1 Manure Application and Alberta Agricultural Operation Practice Act (AOPA) learning objective Identify manure incorporation requirement required by AOPA. Identify minimum etback ditance for manure application requred by AOPA. Identify oil nitrate-nitrogen limit percribed by AOPA that may retrict manure application. Identify oil alinity retriction on manure application precribed by AOPA. 169

2 Manure Application and Alberta Agricultural Operation Practice Act (AOPA) 170 more info You can get more information on AOPA or anwer to pecific quetion, by calling the nearet NRCB office (ee below) or at NRCB: Toll-free 24-hour repone line Dial firt for tollfree connection Lethbridge (403) Red Deer (403) Morinville (780) Fairview (780) Manure can only be applied to arable land. Important Term Table Key Term and Definition Term Common Body of Water Manure Natural Reource Conervation Board AOPA contain the majority of regulation that impact livetock production in Alberta. AOPA i maintained and updated by AF, and the adminitration and enforcement of the Act reide with the NRCB. AOPA include everal rule pertaining to manure application with particular reference to: Incorporation requirement Minimum etback ditance for manure that i applied and incorporated Minimum etback ditance for manure applied on forage, direct-eeded crop, and frozen or nowcovered land Nitrate-nitrogen limit Salinity contraint Nutrient management plan Manure handling plan Incorporation Requirement Under AOPA, manure applied to land under traditional cultivation mut be incorporated within 48 hour of application. The exception to thi rule i when manure i applied to forage, direct-eeded crop, frozen or now-covered land or when an operation ha a permit that pecifie a different incorporation requirement. Liquid manure injection i conidered to be the ame a incorporation. Definition I conidered in the legilation (AOPA) a the bed and hore of a water body that i common to or hared by more than one landowner. Under AOPA manure include the livetock excreta, traw, other bedding material, litter, oil, wah water and feed in the manure. Compoted manure ha the ame requirement a manure. (NRCB) It i a regulatory agency of the Government of Alberta. It i reponible for regulating Alberta confined feeding operation. Incorporating manure oon after it ha been applied will reduce odour. From an agronomic perpective, incorporation reduce loe of manure nutrient through volatilization or runoff; thereby retaining a greater proportion of applied nutrient for crop uptake. Incorporation can be accomplihed atifactorily uing typical tillage implement (e.g., cultivator). Minimum Setback Ditance for Manure that i Applied and Incorporated Individual who apply manure are required to comply with application etback ditance et by AOPA (Figure 4.4.1). Thee etback ditance are deigned to reduce nuiance impact on neighbour and minimize the rik of manure entering a common body of water. Specifically, manure i not to be applied: Within 30 metre of a water well, regardle of whether it i injected or urface applied and incorporated. Within 10 metre of a common body of water if uburface injection i ued. Within 30 metre of a common body of water if manure i urface-applied and incorporated within 48 hour. Note: There i no etback requirement from neighbouring reidence if manure i pread on cultivated land and incorporated with in 48 hour.

3 Grazing livetock are not ubject to etback requirement. Figure Summary of Manure Application Setback Ditance Precribed Under AOPA What i a Common Body of Water? The term common body of water in the legilation include the bed and hore of a water body that i common to or hared by more than one landowner. A common body of water can include a river, tream, creek, lake, lough, marh, reervoir, irrigation or drainage canal. A a general rule, feature not conidered to be a common body of water under AOPA are: An irrigation or drainage canal that i completely urrounded by private land controlled by the owner or operator and ha no outflow going beyond the private land. A reervoir, lake, marh, or lough that i completely urrounded by private land controlled by the owner or operator and ha no outflow going directly beyond the private land to a drainage canal, reervoir, river, permanent tream or creek, lake or potable water ource that i being ued for human or livetock conumption. A temporary tream on private land controlled by the owner or operator that ha no outflow going beyond the private land directly to a drainage canal, reervoir, river, permanent tream or creek, lake or potable water ource that i being ued for human or livetock conumption. A roadide ditch. A watewater or torm drainage ytem a defined in the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA). Manure application on frozen or nowcovered land i not a recommended beneficial management practice. 171

4 Manure Application and Alberta Agricultural Operation Practice Act (AOPA) 172 tip A a courtey, producer are encouraged to notify their neighbour before preading manure to reduce complaint and conflict aociated with manure application. tip Even if etback are met, reaonable care and attention hould be taken to reduce the amount of manure that may enter common bodie of water a a reult of nowmelt runoff. Minimum Setback Ditance for Manure applied on Forage, Direct- Seeded Crop, and Frozen or Snow- Covered Land An operator whoe Confined Feeding Operation (CFO) ha at leat nine month of manure torage i prohibited from applying manure to frozen or now-covered ground. The legilation recognize that there may be exceptional circumtance that create the need for operator to pread manure on now or frozen ground. Thi practice may be allowed with permiion from an NRCB inpector, or if the Board publihe a notice permitting the application of manure on frozen and now-covered land. Livetock operation and CFO contructed before January 1, 2002, that do not have nine month of torage can continue to pread on frozen and now-covered ground, but they mut comply with the variou etback and oil nutrient limit in the regulation. Manure application on frozen or now-covered land i not a recommended beneficial management practice. In Alberta more than 85% of the runoff come from nowmelt. Application of manure on now-covered or frozen ground increae the rik of nutrient tranport from the field to neighbouring water bodie. If manure mut be applied to frozen or now-covered land, from a beneficial management point of view, there are everal conideration that can be made to reduce the rik of nutrient runoff: Have an emergency plan in place, a part of the operation, to deal with the development of ituation that would require the application of manure on now-covered or frozen ground. A part of the operation plan, ae the rik aociated with variou field or part of field to determine their uitability for the application and to minimize the rik of nutrient lo through runoff. On elected field etablih tructural control (i.e., berm or catch bain) or management practice (i.e., tanding tubble) to reduce the rik of runoff. Chooe a field that doe not border or drain into a common body of water Apply manure to the centre area of the field that do not drain off of the field Limit the frequency and rate of application to a minimum. Manure application on forage, direct-eeded, and frozen or now-covered land ha pecific etback requirement. Manure that i pread and not incorporated mut be pread at leat 150 metre from any reidence, other building or occupied tructure that i not owned by the operator (including churche and chool). An example of building or tructure not occupied by people include granarie and hay torage hed. A peron who applie manure on forage, direct-eeded and frozen or now-covered land mut meet minimum application etback ditance, keeping mind the average lope of the land near the common body of water, if the land lope toward the common body of water (Table and Figure 4.4.2). When planning manure application, etback ditance impact the available area in a field, and therefore limit the amount of manure that can be applied to that field. Specific practice and control to reduce nutrient loe from runoff are dicued in Module 8.0. Slope in a field, particularly thoe adjacent to a common body of water, hould have been characterized during the ite aement. For the purpoe of AOPA, meauring the lope over the firt 90 metre from the edge of the water body i ufficient.

5 Table Setback Ditance from a Common Body of Water for Manure Application on Forage, Direct-eeded and Frozen or Snow-covered Land Average lope within 90 meter of a common body of water Setback ditance required from the common body of water 4% or le 30 m Greater than 4% to le than 6% 60 m 6% or greater, but le than 12 % 90 m If the lope i 12% or greater, do not apply manure on the land. Once the lope i le than 12% manure can be applied. Setback for manure application on land with le than 12% lope (on forage, direct-eeded crop, frozen or now-covered land) Setback for manure application on land with 12% lope or greater (on forage, direct-eeded crop, frozen or now-covered land) Figure Slope-baed manure application etback ditance from common bodie of water on forage or direct eeded land. Soil Nitrate-Nitrogen Limit Under AOPA, oil NO 3 -N limit have been et for the top 60 cm of oil. The maximum allowable level depend on productive potential of the oil group, oil texture, depth to water table and oil type (Table 4.4.3). Table Soil Nitrate-N Limit for Agricultural Soil in Alberta Soil Soil Texture Coare Textured Soil (i.e., > 45% and) Medium and Fine Textured Soil Depth to Water Table < 4m Depth to Water Table > 4m Brown 80 kg/ha 140 kg/ha 140 kg/ha Dark Brown 110 kg/ha 140 kg/ha 170 kg/ha Black 1-40 kg/ha 170 kg/ha 225 kg/ha Gray Wooded (Gray 110 kg/ha 140 kg/ha 170 kg/ha Luviol) Irrigated 180 kg/ha 225 kg/ha 270 kg/ha Adapted from: Schedule 3, Standard and Adminitration Regulation, 2006 To convert the value from Table from kg/ha to lb/ac, multiply by The following example may help a a guide in determining the lope of the land: - 4% lope i equal to a 3.6 m rie over a 90 m horizontal ditance - 6% lope i equal to a 5.4 m rie over a 90 m horizontal ditance - 12% lope i equal to a 10.8 m rie over a 90 m horizontal ditance 173

6 Manure Application and Alberta Agricultural Operation Practice Act (AOPA) more info For more information on the record keeping requirement and form can be found in the following reource: AF Wintering ite and livetock corral, Agdex AF Manure management regulation for cow/calf producer, Agdex AF Manure preading regulation, Agdex AF Permit and regulation for exiting operation, Agdex AF AOPA: 2004 Reference Guide, Agdex# Salinity Contraint AOPA alo et limitation on manure application baed on oil alinity, to enure the alt in manure do not affect plant growth. Manure may not be applied at rate that, if after application, would reult in a one deciiemen/metre (ds/m) increae in EC in the top 15 cm (6 in) of the oil. Manure application i prohibited on oil, if the EC of the oil in the top 15 cm i greater than four ds/m. Currently, there i no imple and reliable way of predicting the extent to which a one-time application of manure i likely to impact oil EC at a given ite. Regular oil ampling i the mot reliable way to ae and monitor change in oil alinity. It i important to identify aline area during the ite aement ince thee area may reduce the total area available for manure application. NMP Under AOPA NMP are not mandatory for every peron who applie manure. Under AOPA, an approved NMP i required if a peron want to exceed the oil nitrate-nitrogen or alinity limit when applying manure. The NRCB can approve a NMP for applying manure in exce of the limit if the NRCB i atified that implementing the NMP will not adverely affect the oil or the environment. Manure Handling Plan under AOPA A peron applying for a CFO permit can ubmit a manure handling plan to the NRCB for approval to reduce or eliminate the need to meet the manure application and torage requirement under AOPA. The NRCB may approve a manure handling plan that provide an alternative to complying with the manure application and torage requirement. For example, an operation may ubmit a manure handling plan where an agreement i in place with other who will be accepting the manure from the operation. Manure production and tranfer record mut alo be kept in thee ituation. 174

7 ummary AOPA require that manure be incorporated within 48 hour of application, unle manure i applied to forage, directeeded, frozen or now covered land. Manure may not be applied within 30 metre of a well. Manure application adjacent to common bodie of water require a etback ditance of 10 metre if injected and 30 metre if urface applied and incorporated within 48 hour. In ituation where manure cannot be incorporated, manure may not be applied within 150 metre of a reidence or other building or tructure occupied by people, and the application etback ditance from water bodie increae with lope grade (minimum 30 m). Under AOPA, manure application rate are retricted baed on NO 3 -N in the top 60 cm of oil. The maximum allowable level depend on oil texture, depth to water table and oil type. Manure may not be applied if it application would reult in a one ds/m increae in EC in the top 15 cm (6 in) of the oil. Manure may not be applied to oil if the oil EC, prior to application, i more than four ds/m. Regular oil ampling a part of a nutrient management plan i the mot reliable way to ae and monitor change in oil alinity. 175