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A written, well thought out, common sense emergency management plan is vital to any livestock farm. First, if properly prepared by management and reviewed with employees, it will help prevent accidental spills. Also, it will be a plan whereby spills can be minimized and cleaned up properly if one does occur.

Management should definitely consider prevention of a manure spill as a high priority. As environmental regulations become stricter, prevention will be much less costly than clean up of a spill. Prevention is also more neighbor friendly.

A written emergency management plan could help the farm in a Court of Law if ever needed. Any manure spill problems should be recorded and saved for future review by management and employees, and kept in the files. This can be an excellent teaching instrument.