The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets wants to remind farmers that the winter manure spreading ban is now in effect.
The ban runs Dec. 15 to April 1, 2013.
This annual ban is part of a strategy to protect our working landscape and natural resources, as outlined in Vermont's Accepted Agricultural Practices (AAPs). The Agency works closely with farmers across the state to ensure that their farming operations comply with the AAPs.
Manure spreading enriches the soil for production, and is a common agricultural practice. The ban, in place since 1995 under the Accepted Agricultural Practice rules, addresses the potential of manure applications on frozen ground to lead to runoff that pollutes water sources.
During the ban, farmers must either have a storage structure capable of holding all manure produced from Dec. 15 to April 1, a period of 107 days, or else they must be able to stack all manure produced in some other way that protects water quality.
How to stack manure
When stacking manure, AAPs require that stacking sites be located more than 100 feet from private wells or property boundaries. Moreover, manure shall not be stacked on unimproved sites within 100 feet of surface water, or on land subject to annual overflow from adjacent waters.
In all these situations, however, farmers have the option of demonstrating to the Secretary of Agriculture that no alternative sites exist to enable them to meet these restrictions.
For more information on the manure spreading ban, call the Agency at 802-828-3475.