United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance Washington, DC 20460 EPA3Q5-F-GG-GG8 August 2000 www.epa.gov Ag Center Helping Agriculture Comply with Environmental Requirements FOCUS ON Agriculture Compliance Assistance Project: Livestock This fact sheet will tell you about a national project to develop programs and materials that will help livestock producers comply with environmental regulations. Three-year project The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are cooperating in a 3-year national project to help livestock producers implement sound environmental management practices and comply with environmental regulations that affect their businesses. The livestock management compliance assistance project, for which approximately $300,000 has been allocated, is being funded through a cooperative agreement administered by USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) andEPA's National Agriculture Compliance Assistance Center (Ag Center). Nationwide team A peer review process chose a project with the University of Nebraska and North Carolina State University as co-leaders. Other cooperators include 12 other universities and additional federal and education-related participants. (See list of cooperators below.) The nationwide team of project participants will work closely with the Ag Center and CSREES to increase livestock producers' understanding of the principles of environmental management and to foster compliance with all environmental requirements that affect this key segment of U.S. agriculture. ------- The project will develop materials ana. other tools to help producers use common-sense, cost'effective approaches to meeting environmental requirements. The project will develop a national "core curriculum" on management and compliance. OBJECTIVE I Develop a nationally recognized, producer-oriented core curriculum addressing high profile livestock environmental issues. A key product of the project will be a high-quality core curriculum, on management and compliance topics. Experts who have pioneered similar resources will lead this effort. The curriculum will be reviewed and pilot tested in five geographic regions to ensure that it is relevant to regional and livestock species differences. Livestock environmental issues to be addressed include • manure storage • advanced waste treatment systems • odor management • land application and nutrient management. The curriculum modules will include • a reference publication for livestock producers that describes design requirements, management practices, planning tools, and compliance issues • teaching aids for information providers, including pre-planned presentations with electronic visual aids • electronic and/or printed tools for facilitating more complex design calculations and recordkeeping processes. The national core curriculum will be delivered to livestock industry information providers through five regional meetings. These five symposia will provide in-depth inservice education for public sector information providers (such as Extension educators and Natural Resources Conservation Service staff), engineering and environmental consultants, and key representatives of private sector allied industries (such as crop consultants and livestock feed consultants). OBJECTIVE 2 Provide livestock producers and information providers access to these curriculum resources through multiple, readily accessible delivery methodologies. The project will provide • electronic access to the new resources • regional access to in-depth educational programs for information providers responsible for delivering these resources • access to printed publications. Ag Center Fact Sheet Series Page 2 Compliance Assistance/EPA/USDA National Projects/Agriculture Compliance Assistance Project: Livestock ------- The Ag Center welcomes comments on this document and its other services. The project will identify • technical resource contacts • publications that discuss best management practices (BMPs) for storage, handling, and land application of manure • available web-based and stand-alone software for sizing storage structures, nutrient management, record- keeping, or other technical applications • state and federal regulations addressing animal manure management. Cooperators • North Carolina State University (project co-lead) • University of Nebraska (project co- lead) • Cornell University • Pennsylvania State University • University of California - Davis • Farm*A*Syst • Iowa State University • Kansas State University • Mid West Plan Service • Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA • Agricultural Research Service, USDA • North Carolina A&T University • Purdue University • University of Georgia • University of Illinois • University of Minnesota • University of Missouri • Texas A&M University USDA/EPA contacts • Denis Ebodaghe National Program Leader-Small Farms, USDA, Mail Stop 2220, Washington, DC 20250-2220 Telephone: 202-401-4385 E-mail: debodaghe@reeusda.gov • Ginah Mortensen Director, EPA National Agriculture Compliance Assistance Center Telephone: 1-888-663-2155 E-mail: mortensen.ginah@epa.gov For more information You can get more facts about compliance by calling the Ag Center's toll-free number. Materials can be sent to you by fax or mail, or you can talk to an Ag Center representative. For a list of all publications available from the Ag Center, request document number 10001, "Ag Center Publications." National Agriculture Compliance Assistance Center 901 N. 5th Street Kansas City, KS 66101 Toll-free: 1 -888-663-2155 Internet: www.epa.gov/oeca/ag Fax: 913-551-7270 United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20460 Ag Center Fact Sheet Series PageS ------- ------- |