Recently, the concept of Comprehensive Nutrient Management Planning (CNMP)
was introduced by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS). It is anticipated that the CNMP will serve
as a cornerstone of environmental plans assembled by animal feeding operations
to address federal and state regulations. EPA and NRCS guidelines for
CNMP are given in Table 1.
Table 1. Summary of issues addressed by a CNMP as
initially defined by EPA’s Guidance |
| Planning components of CNMP |
Issues addressed |
| A manure handling and storage plan |
- Diversion of clean water
- Prevention of leakage storage plan
- Adequate storage
- Manure treatment
- Management of mortality
|
| Land application plan |
- Proper nutrient application rates to achieve a crop nutrient
balance
- Selection of timing and application methods to limit risk of
runoff
|
| Site management plan |
Soil conservation practices that minimize movement of soil and manure
components to surface and groundwater |
| Record keeping |
Manure production, utilization, and export to off-farm users |
| Other utilization options |
Alternative safe manure utilization strategies such as sale of manure,
treatment technologies, or energy generation |
| Feed management plan |
Alternative feed programs to minimize the nutrients in manure |
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