Thursday, April 5, 2012

IDEM CAFO/CFO Rule Open Houses

Listed below is the text of a message I received this morning announcing Open Houses to discuss the revised CFO/CAFO Rules which go into effect on July 1 of this year:

Indiana Department of Environmental Management E-News Media Advisory

For immediate release
April 5, 2012

IDEM holding open house meetings to assist farmers with the new confined feeding rule requirements

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is holding a series of open –house style meetings across the state to make staff available to meet with farmers operating confined feeding operations (CFOs) and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

Rule revisions affecting confined feeding operations (CFOs) were adopted by the Water Pollution Control Board in November 2011, and go into effect July 1, 2012. The rule changes eliminate the “General Permit” category for farms regulated by federal farm rules. Farms with a general permit must determine if they need to be covered by Indiana’s CFO permit or a federal “Individual Permit.”

In addition, the rule changes place restrictions on land application of manure based on phosphorus limits and land application to frozen or snow covered ground. IDEM staff will be available at the open houses to answer questions and assist farmers and operators in transitioning their permit to make sure they maintain appropriate permit coverage under the new rules.

The Open Houses will be held on the following dates and locations:

Monday, April 9, 2012
2 – 8 p.m.
Carroll County 4-H Building
102 Fourth, Flora, IN 46929
(East side of Flora on SR 18)

Thursday, April 12, 2012
2 – 8 p.m.
Huntington County Courthouse
D.A.R. Room, 2nd Floor
Use Jefferson Street Entrance
201 North Jefferson Street
Huntington, IN 46750

Monday, April 16, 2012
2 – 8 p.m.
Decatur County Extension Office
545 S 200 W
Greensburg, IN 47240

Wednesday, April 18, 2012
2 – 8 p.m.
Dubois County Fairgrounds
Clover Pavilion
4157 S SR 162
Huntingburg, IN 47542

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Thoughts on the 2011-12 Unwinter

I've wanted to post on the strange weather we saw this winter but haven't had a lot to add to what everyone else has been saying. In particular there's been a lot of discussion on possible insect impacts.

My personal feeling is that it will be hard to predict if we'll see increased insect pressure this year. Most of the overwintering insects have adapted to survive here so the sheer numbers may not be too different (and they may encounter disease and predation which they aren't adapted to) though emergence date will obviously change. I haven't heard of any insects which don't usually overwinter here surviving however there may be some early arrivals. What I think is more likely is that there may be additional generations and that the standard timing for insect impacts will be very different from usual. Again, nothing revolutionary or which you can't find in a lot of other places from people who know more than I. I think the key will be that this year will place an additional premium on keeping informed and up to date on what's going on. Purdue's Pest and Crop Newsletter is one good resource. Another is Bob Nielsen's site where he summarizes crop information from various sources - including for crops other than corn.

There isn't a lot of this grown in Clinton County but one thing I've been struck by is how quickly alfalfa is coming along. Growing Degree Day(GDD) accumulation is one way of determining when to make your first cutting and we're already close to 300 in Central Indiana. Craig Thomas from Michigan State University recently posted an article discussing the use of GDD's to determine when to harvest. There's a good chance this will be a four-cutting year if we get rain, as long as you make your first cutting in a timely manner.

In order to track Growing Degree Day accumulation a good resource is the GDD Tracker.