EPA finalizes the nation’s first greenhouse gas reporting system On January 1, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will, for the first time, require large emitters of heat-trapping emissions to begin collecting greenhouse gas (GHG) data under a new reporting system.

This new program will cover approximately 85 percent of the nation’s GHG emissions and apply to roughly 10,000 facilities.

“This is a major step forward in our effort to address the greenhouse gases polluting our skies,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.

“For the first time, we begin collecting data from the largest facilities in this country, ones that account for approximately 85 percent of the total U.S. emissions. The American public, and industry itself, will finally gain critically important knowledge and with this information we can determine how best to reduce those emissions.”

Western United Dairymen’s Director of Environmental Services Paul Martin reported that an early examination of the new program shows that the threshold for dairy is 3,200 mature cows.

“We will be working to make compliance as simple and convenient as possible,” said Martin.
—From WUD Weekly Update

Skagit manure-to-power plant on line
A plant in the Skagit County town of Rexville, Washington, is using methane from cow manure to produce electricity.

The plant, built and run by the company Farm Power, is operating at about 80 percent capacity. At full capacity, its digester can handle 55,000 gallons of liquid manure a day, and produce enough electricity to power about 500 homes.

Three other plants in Washington also burn methane from cow manure to generate electricity, but the Rexville operation is the first to accept waste from two or more dairy farms, allowing smaller operations to participate. —From Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Cargill, Idaho Power get okay for manure power pact
Cargill Inc. has gotten the green light from the Idaho Public Utilities Commission for a plan to supply Idaho Power Co. with 2.13 megawatts of electricity from the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based agricultural conglomerate’s poop-to-power plant near Jerome, Idaho.

Cargill’s cow manure digester at the 10,000-cow Bettencourt Dairy in Hansen in southern Idaho was scheduled to begin operation on Sept. 1. Cargill spent about $8.5 million to build the 2.25 megawatt digester and generator facility.

Cargill has said it’s exploring similar endeavors in neighboring Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, California, Texas, New York and Indiana. After the Idaho project has proven itself “for a reasonable amount of time,” Idaho Power said it expects the two companies will enter into a long-term energy sales agreement.
—From AP newswire

Grants will help farmers reduce bay pollution
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is working with farmers in Rockingham County, Virginia, to reduce water pollution from agricultural runoff.

A $100,000 federal grant will allow the foundation, local conservation officials and a private farm consultant to work with farmers near the Lower Dry River, Muddy Creek and Cooks Creek to fence livestock out of streams, plant streamside tree and grass buffers and restore wetlands.

West Virginia University has also won a $181,000 USDA grant to study how global mapping and precision farming can combine to protect water quality in the Eastern Panhandle, which has porous limestone geology.
—From AP newswire

Farmers urged to take steps now to empty manure storage structures, weather permitting
Wisconsin agriculture and natural resource officials are urging livestock producers to take steps now to properly manage manure in coming months and to avoid taking shortcuts.

Reports that financially-stressed farmers may be delaying emptying their storage structures as a cost-saving measure are stirring concerns of an increased risk later of manure spills and other problems.

“Producers are struggling as it is – they don’t need the additional stress, cost and labor that can come from having a manure spill, an overtopped storage structure or runoff into lakes and streams,” says Rod Nilsestuen, who leads the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

“We urge all producers to make sure they are taking the steps now and before winter to properly manage manure and avoid problems later.”

The state agriculture department is joining with the Department of Natural Resources, the University of Wisconsin-Extension, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Professional Nutrient Applicators Association of Wisconsin (PNAAW) to reach producers with an important reminder of the necessary steps and information about available help to manage manure.

Almost half of Wisconsin’s dairy producers use storage and liquid manure- spreading systems to efficiently handle and manage manure.

The cost of agitating, hauling, and incorporating manure into farm fields runs from $100 to $250 per cow per year, according to Kevin Erb, UW-Extension’s adviser to the applicators association.

Reports from manure haulers, producers themselves, and county agriculture agents suggest that producers, stressed by low prices, tightened credit, and fluctuating feed, fertilizer and other costs, may not be asking their bankers for money to cover the costs of properly handling and spreading the manure produced on their farm, he says.

“We have only a limited amount of time when we can safely apply manure – and we can’t control the weather to extend the window,” Erb says.

“If the manure storage is not completely emptied in the fall, farmers may face the difficult choice of letting it overflow in spring or spreading on fields at one of the highest-risk times of the year.”

Both options could result in fish kills, contaminated drinking wells, fines and upset neighbors. ANM

—From Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection news release