Richmond, Va.-Agriculture interests are concerned that the state’s plans to tighten regulations covering use of poultry litter could lead to more restrictions on other crop nutrients and fertilizers. “We believe the proposed amendments are unnecessary and precedent-setting for the majority of Virginia farmers,” declared Wilmer Stoneman, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s associate director of governmental relations. “They are the first step toward requiring all farmers to obtain a permit before purchasing and applying crop nutrients and fertilizers.” Proposed amendments would require purchasers of poultry litter to provide soil samples indicating a need for fertilizer, as well as details of their nutrient management plans that describe the application site and timing and litter storage procedures. Permits would be required for anyone utilizing more than 10 tons of litter. Use of poultry litter – manure and materials such as sawdust, collected from commercial poultry houses – for fertilizer is not an uncommon practice on Virginia farms. Current state laws and regulations require permits for any operation that produces more than 20,000 chickens or 11,000 turkeys. Those requirements, intended to protect water quality, cover nutrient management plan implementation, waste storage and handling, and tracking or accounting for transfers of litter to brokers and end users. End users receive an analysis of their litter’s soil nutrient content and a fact sheet that provides application and storage information. ZIP Code and watershed information is tracked for each poultry litter transaction. “We believe that the current regulations sufficiently address the state’s concerns related to protecting water quality,” Stoneman said. “At the time that they were adopted, it was understood that it’s important to move as much poultry litter from poultry farms to other farmers as possible. It’s a recurring byproduct, and over-regulating the people who need it will serve to strand more and more litter on the farms where it is produced. There is little or no evidence that shows end users are using litter in a manner that causes water pollution. Generally speaking, farmers don’t waste things they pay for, and this is no exception.” Stoneman also said the Farm Bureau has concerns about the proposed regulations exposing poultry growers to liability for the actions of a litter purchaser. He said Farm Bureau members and others are being urged to voice their objections to the State Water Control Board and the Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality before Jan. 12.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain