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Click on “Download PDF” for the PDF version or on the title for the HTML version. If you are not an ASABE member or if your employer has not arranged for access to the full-text, Click here for options. Livestock*A*Syst for Small and medium Farm Environmental AssessmentPublished by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org Citation: International Symposium on Air Quality and Manure Management for Agriculture Conference Proceedings, 13-16 September 2010, Dallas, Texas 711P0510cd.(doi:10.13031/2013.32703)Authors: Natalie Bement Rector Keywords: Manure, water quality, environmental protection, farmyard manure, livestock A stepwise process can help livestock producers walk through every aspect of an initial on-farm environmental review. Following the familiar Farm*A*Syst format, this Livestock*A*Syst bulletin takes into account laws, requirements and good management practices to provide a livestock producer a ranking of environmental risks and what areas they may be at risk of fines or be brought under regulatory compliance. Although specific to the state of Michigan it could provide a model for other states to modify and localize. The categories covered are relevant to all farms, especially dairy and primarily small and medium farms that are not currently under regulations. It covers manure land application and conservation practices, mortality and silage management, milking center wastes, manure storage, pastures, odor control, and emergency planning. The booklet serves as an awareness tool in a non-threatening manner and provides suggestions for improvements that will lower environmental risk factors for each category. Ideally the producer will be assisted through the process with a non-biased, non-regulatory consultant or agency person and upon completion the producer will have a priority listing of items to address, specific to their farm, to help them proactively protect the environmental resources. A scoring sheet has also been developed that can be used to monitor progress over time. A copy of the bulletin can be found at: (Download PDF) (Export to EndNotes)
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