Brian Burk, Shannon Gaffey, Sophie Gould,

Sarah Kearsley

The ecological health of the Lake Champlain Watershed is being adversely affected by agricultural pollution from Vermont dairy farms.

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Non-point runoff from agricultural lands is a large source of ecological stress in the Lake Champlain Basin

Minimal regulations surround the issue of run-off from small dairies.

When analyzing dairy management in Vermont, we will take a holistic view on the issue. We will examine how the science, policy, economy, and social issues fit together. 

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“Agricultural sources are responsible for 46% of the sediment, 47% of the total P, and 52% of the total N discharged in US waterways.” (Rao et al.)

Phosphorus is the limiting nutrient in Lake Champlain

Main Sources of P in Lake ChamplainStorm WaterSewage TreatmentNonpoint Agricultural Runoff

Manure Fertilizer UseP Based Livestock FeedLivestock Waste

Nutrient Loading: PhosphorusP concentration required for plant growth:

~0.2ppm

Lake Water P concentration accelerating Eutrophication: ~0.02 ppm

Small percent loss of P from agriculture has significant water quality implications (USDA 2003)

Eutrophication in a Nutshell

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Total Maximum Daily Load“The calculation of the maximum amount of a

pollutant that a water body can receive and still meet Vermont Water Quality Standards” (VTDEC)

Process Problem Identification Identification of Target Values Source Assessment Linkage between Target and Sources Allocations Public Participation EPA Approval and Monitoring (VT ANR)

BMPS: “The most effective and practical means to attain a certain objective”

Implemented on agricultural sites to reduce P pollution

IncludeNutrient Management PlansRiparian Buffer ZonesConstructed WetlandsLivestock Fencing

Conservation Practice Total P Reduction (%) Reference

 P rate balanced to crop use vs. above recommended rate 15–47 Dinnes, 2004

 Adoption of nutrient management plan 0–45 Devlin et al., 2003; Gitau et al., 2005

 No-till vs. conventional tillage 35–70 Devlin et al., 2003; Dinnes, 2004

 Cover crops 7–63 Dinnes, 2004

 Diverse cropping systems and rotations within row cropping 25–88 Dinnes, 2004

 Contour plowing and terracing 30–75 Devlin et al., 2003; Gitau et al., 2005

 Livestock exclusion from streams vs. constant intensive grazing

32–76 Dinnes, 2004; Gitau et al., 2005; Smith et al., 1992

 Managed grazing vs. constant intensive grazing 0–78 Dinnes, 2004; Gitau et al., 2005

 In-field vegetative buffers 4–67 Devlin et al., 2003; Dinnes, 2004; Gitau et al., 2005

 Riparian buffers 40–93 Dinnes, 2004; Gitau et al., 2005; Smith et al., 1992

Wetlands 0-79 Dinnes, 2004; Gitau et al., 2005; Smith et al., 1992

BMP EffectivenessTable 3. Potential total P reduction efficiencies (percent change) in surface runoff. Estimates are average values for a multiple year basis.

Sharpley et al. p.1984

 Vermont Agriculture Nonpoint Source Pollution Reduction Program Law and Regulations :

Accepted Agricultural Practices Law and Regulations,

Best Management Practice Law and Regulations,

Large Farm Operation Law and Regulations

<http://www.vermontagriculture.com/ARMES/pidnonpointsource.htm>

Full Law and Regulations found at:

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Written 1995, revised 2006 Improved farming techniques/ land management practices Not investments in structure/ equipment No financial assistance All farms but only medium and large checked on for

compliance 1,026 farms,851 small farms, 900 dairies

Accepted Agricultural Practice Regulations. April 24,2006. <http://www.vermontagriculture.com/ARMES/awq/AAPs.htm>

Discharge, Nutrient and Pesticide Storage, Nutrient and Pesticide Application, Soil Cultivations, Agricultural Waste Management, Buffer Zones, Construction of Farm Structures, Ground Water Quality, Streambank Stabilization.

Full regulations can be found at <http://www.vermontagriculture.com/ARMES/awq/AAPs.htm>

http://www.mda.state.mn.us/protecting/conservation/practices/buffergrass.aspx

Specific to water quality, target phosphorus

Expensive, require governmental funding Structural improvement, not techniques Specific to each farm Application process Usually voluntary, except when specific

farms not meeting AAP standards

Full laws and regulations can be found at: <http://www.vermontagriculture.com/ARMES/BMP.htm#top>

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>90% MFOs are dairy in Vermont

200-699 dairy animals Follow AAPs have a Nutrient

Management plan in place 25 foot buffers around all

surface waters

• 700+ mature dairy animals

• Follow AAPs• Follow MFOs general

permits• Additional rules : odor,

noise, traffic, insects, flies and pests

Large Farm Operations (LFOs)

Agricultural Water Quality. ARMES. <http://www.vermontagriculture.com/ARMES/awq/AWQ.html>

Environmental Quality Incentives Program

Farm Agronomic Practices

Conservation Innovation Grants

Nutrient Management Plan Incentive Grants

http://www.vermontagriculture.com/

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Non-competitive grant awarded by VT Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets

Provides financial support to help farmers develop, install and improve manure BMPs

An initial $5,000 is available over a three year period to help with nutrient plan development, pending on proper maintenance and update during those three years.

Maximum funding amounts to: $9/acre + $15/soil test + $35/manure & other waste tests + $8/acre for PreSidress Nitrogen Testing (PSNT) available to farms currently developing plans

For farms with an existing plan that are no longer receiving financial aid, up to $3 per acre for a max of 333 acres (or, $1,000) is available to help farmers UPDATE their existing plan

Total payment is limited to $14,000

Applications and payment outlines available at:http://www.vermontagriculture.com/ARMES/awq/NMPIG.html

EQIP offers financial and technical help to aid participants in installing BMPs Contracts last from 1-10 years after final scheduled implementation Payments are set based on per unit cost of installing a practice in a “typical

scenario” Contracted activities are carried out according to a plan of operations which

is developed with the producer.

EQIP payments may cover up to 75% of the

costs of practices stated in the contract,

but in special cases may provide up to 90%

Payments for specified management

practices may be provided for up to 3 years

  Overall contract ceiling is set at $300,000

Program outline available at:http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip/

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Program outline available at:http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/cig/index.html

Information for grantees: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/cig/InfoForGrantees.html

http://www.santarosa.edu/adminserv/grants.html

FAP goals are more soil-quality oriented than other programs Encourages soil-based BMP and outreach on agricultural water

quality impacts through funds made available by VAAFM Funded practices include: cover cropping, strip cropping,

conservation crop rotation, cross-slope tillage, conservation tillage and alternative manure incorporation

Conservation practices

usually cannot be doubly funded

under FAP. Depending on fund availability,

the FAP program payment is

capped at $5,000 per farm

per fiscal year

Grant applications and Fact sheet found at: http://www.vermontagriculture.com/ARMES/awq/FAP.html

http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/landcenter/tracker/spring2007/oconomowoc.html

Northeast Recycling Council

Publications and workshops for livestock farmers in New England area

6 workshops in Vermont:  74 of the thousand dairy

farms in VermontEmphasis on self-sufficient

manure management and nutrient recycling on small farms

Bridges gap between the science and the policy implementation through education

Bradley, A. Personal Communication. April 13, 2010.

http://www.vermontdairy.com

Not much environmental regulation on small farms

Farmers say economic pressures are much more of an issue Lyle Edwards- Newport

VTMike Eastman- Addison

VTLegislation restricts sale

of raw milkEdwards, L. Personal Communication. March 19, 2010 Flagg, K. Raw Milk Picks Up Advocates. Addison County Independent. (2008).

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Farm of 100 head has a net loss of $100,000

spend $19/hundredweight, earn $12/hundredweight

250 Vermont farms lost in past 5 years

Government aid: $11 million in 2009

Current system of aid allocation doesn't make sense

*Maroney, J. H. The Political Economy of Milk: Reinvigorating Vermont’s Family Dairy Farms. Gala Books Ltd. (2009). 

http://www.understandingmoney.gov

Government assistance for organic certification of small farms

Effectively preserve small dairy farms Environmental benefits for watershed

-use less pesticides -smaller eutrophication potential per tonne of milk -smaller point source

Maroney, J. H. The Political Economy of Milk: Reinvigorating Vermont’s Family Dairy Farms. Gala Books Ltd. (2009).

Government aid to increase and stabilize milk prices in Vermont

Increase legal quantities of raw milk salesExpand educational initiatives such as the

Manure Management Program

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Accepted Agricultural Practice Regulations. April 24,2006. <http://www.vermontagriculture.com/ARMES/awq/AAPs.htm>

Agricultural Best Management Practices. Northeast Georgia Regional Development Center: Alcovy River Watershed Protection Plan. (n.d.). http://www.negrc.org/Alcovy_Web/reports/Alcovy_River_Wtrshed_Protection_Plan_Chap-9.pdf

Agricultural Phosphorus and Eutrophication: Second Edition.  United States Department of Agriculture: Agricultural Research Service.  (2003).  ARS—149.

Agricultural Water Quality. ARMES. <http://www.vermontagriculture.com/ARMES/awq/AWQ.html>   Best Management Practices (BMP’s). Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets.

2001. <http://www.vermontagriculture.com/ARMES/BMP.htm#top> Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) in Vermont. Natural Resources Conservation Service, (2009.) Web. 17 Mar. 2010.

<http://www.vt.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/CIG/>. De Boer, J. M. Environmental Impact Assessment of Conventional and Organic Milk Production. Journal of Livestock Production Science vol 80, Issues

1-2 (2003): 69-77 Edwards, L. Personal Communication. March 19, 2010 Flagg, K. Raw Milk Picks Up Advocates. Addison County Independent. (2008). Government Programs for Organic Growers. Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, (n.d.) Web. 18 Mar. 2010.

<http://nofavt.org/programs/farm-financial-resources/govt-programs>. Maroney, J. H. The Political Economy of Milk: Reinvigorating Vermont’s Family Dairy Farms. Gala Books Ltd. (2009). Non-Point Source Pollution Regulation and Education. Vermont Department of Agriculture, Food and

Markets, Plant Industry Section. 2000. <http://www.vermontagriculture.com/ARMES/pidnonpointsource.htm>

Nutrient Management Plan Incentive Grants (NMPIG). VT Agency of Agriculture, Division of Agricultural Resource Management and Environmental Stewardship, (n.d.) Web. 19 Mar. 2010. <http://www.vermontagriculture.com/ARMES/awq/NMPIG.html>.

Rao, N., Easton, Z., Schneiderman, E., Zion, M., Lee, D.Steenhuis, T.  Modeling watershed-scale effectiveness of agricultural best management practices to reduce phosphorus loading. Journal of Environmental Management. (2009). Vol. 90, Issue 3: 1385-1395

Revised Implementation Plan: Lake Champlain Phosphorus TMDL.  Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.  ( 2008).  Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.

Sharpley, A., Klienman, P., Jordan, P., Bergstrom, L., Allen, A.  Evauluating the Success of Phosphorus Management from Field to Watershed.  Journal of Environmental Quality.  (2009).  Volume 38: 1981-1988.

Wu, Z., Satter, L, Blohowiak, A. Milk Production, phosphorus, excretion, and bone characteristics of dairy cows fed different amounts of phosphorus for two or more years. Journal of Dairy Science. (2001). Vol. 84: 1738-1748.

Vermont Clean and Clear Action Plan. Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets. (2008).   <http://www.anr.state.vt.us/cleanandclear/rep2009/CleanandClear2009annualreport.pdf>

Vermont 2010 EQIP Information. Natural Resources Conservation Service, (2010). Web. 17 Mar. 2010. <http://www.vt.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/EQIP/>.