MANURE SPREADING BAN TAKES EFFECT TODAY
The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) is reminding all farm operations that the annual winter manure spreading ban is underway- Beginning at 12:01 am today, December 16, and running until April 1, 2021. No manure or other agricultural wastes, which includes compost and spoiled feed, may be spread on agricultural fields throughout Vermont.
This annual ban is required by the Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs), which is a part of the Agency of Ag’s overall strategy to protect water quality, the working landscape, and natural resources. The ban is a regulation that has been in place since 1995. The RAPs also prohibit the application of manure or agricultural wastes on frozen or snow-covered fields outside of the dates of the winter manure spreading ban.
The Ag Department can grant farmers exemptions for winter manure spreading, available for emergency situations only. If a farmer anticipates having an issue meeting the winter manure spreading ban restrictions, they should contact The Agency of Ag for assistance with planning winter manure management.
Farmers must either have a storage structure that is capable of holding all manure produced between December 15th to April 1st, 106 days, or they must be able to stack all manure produced in a way that will not lead to adverse water quality impacts. When field stacking manure, the RAPs require that stacking sites be located at least 200 feet from private wells and 100 feet from property boundaries. In addition, manure cannot be stacked within 200 feet of surface water, 100 feet of a ditch, on land that is subject to annual overflow from adjacent waters, or on exposed bedrock.
Questions about the manure spreading ban, requests for assistance in the selection of appropriate manure stacking sites, or to request an emergency exemption can be directed to Laura DiPietro at the Agency of Agriculture at (802) 595-1990, or Ryan Patch at (802) 272-0323.
