Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Plans

Many of you have likely heard of the SPCC regulations. I don't know a ton about them though I have worked with CAFO's and CFO's to develop spill response plans for their operations.

In any case, this post is a reminder for those of you who haven't started working on these that they are due by May 10, 2013. That may seem like a long time from now but if we have another dry spring and you're in a tractor cab by the middle of March again it may come pretty quickly.

Here is the link to the EPA SPCC Page for Farmers.

If you are a Tier 1 facility you can develop your plan yourself and self-certify. To be a Tier 1 facility you must have :

• A total aboveground oil storage capacity of 10,000 U.S. gallons or less;
• No aboveground oil storage containers with a capacity greater than 5,000 U.S. gallons; and
• No discharges to navigable waters or adjoining shorelines in the three years before the SPCC Plan is certified, as described below:

A single discharge greater than 1,000 gallons, or
Two discharges of oil each greater than 42 gallons within any 12-month period.

If your farm storage of oil or oil products exceeds the Tier 1 levels, your plan will need to be certified by a professional engineer.

For information on whether you need to file an SPCC Plan see this fact sheet: Oil Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Program: Information for Farmers

And I'm sorry but I don't know what Could reasonably be expected to discharge oil to waters of the US or adjoining shorelines, such as interstate waters, intrastate lakes, rivers, and streams means. If you have a question about that, you should check with a plans development specialist. Though my guess is that with the number of ditches, field tile and small streams we find in Central Indiana, most area farmers will need to develop a plan.

Grain Quality Issues in Corn

As I'm sure you're aware, 2012 is shaping up as another year where we may encounter grain quality issues with corn. This is always a risk with severe drought stress, particularly if that stress took place during pollination. While Clinton County isn't in as bad shape as many other places, with the recent wetter weather just as harvest is starting up, I'm sure we'll run into it. Every grain buyer in the area, so far as I know, is testing for Aflatoxin, an indication that they've found it in some loads.

Purdue has a web page on this topic with a great deal of information: Managing Moldy Corn

Here are a few of the key concepts as you go into harvest. Keep in mind most of these these (there are a couple of exceptions) won't help with Aflatoxin already present; they help get rid of the Aspergillus fungus which produces Aflatoxin.

One key is minimizing damaged kernels. This corn crop is drying down fast as it's maturing at such an early date. If you think you're at risk for Aflatoxin, make sure you get in the field early enough to keep from having too many damaged kernels and keep fines down to a minimum.

Dry corn a bit more than usual if you plan to store it. If you usually store at 15.5%, think about storing at 14 or 14.5. Also, cool your grain as quickly as possible (an obvious problem in mid-September) without creating moisture issues from condensation. Aspergillus growth is greatly reduced at temperatures below 55 degrees.

Broken kernels and fines generally contain promote fungal activity. If possible, screen your grain before putting it in the bin (or, if you think there's an issue, before taking grain to the elevator). If you can't do this, "core" your bin once it's in storage.

Aflatoxin can cause Human health issues so be careful about breathing in dust. Consider wearing a mask or respirator and change your clothes after handling grain.

USDA's Risk Management Agency has put together a list of Eastern Corn Belt labs which will test for Aflatoxin. You can find that in this publication. Purdue's Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab will also test for it. I don't know why, but they aren't on the list of certified labs in the USDA publication so check with your insurance agent if you're testing for insurance purposes.

If you think you have Aflatoxin, contact your crop insurance agent before you harvest.

Clinton County Farm Emergency Planning

For the past 8 months I have been working with Clinton County Central Dispatch and Fire Chiefs on developing a Farm Emergency Plan Program which would be usable by Emergency Responders on a real-time basis if they were called out to an emergency. We are looking at providing Central Dispatch with a GIS-based Farmstead map and some additional information which would be on the Central Dispatch computer system as well in every emergency vehicle in the county. With this program we believe we will be able to more quickly and effectively respond to farm emergencies and improve the safety for Responders.

I believe we are ready to roll this out over the winter. I have developed a web page with much more detail about this. The link to this is at the bottom of this post. Developing a detailed farm emergency plan is a good idea in and of itself and there may be some financial benefits as well. I encourage you to take a look at the web page and associated information, including a sample plan, and contact me if you have any questions or are interested in developing a plan.

Clinton County Farm Emergency Planning Page

It should be clear but just in case I'll add that I'll only be working on this for Clinton County, Indiana farms.