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Winter manure bans going into effectWinter manure bans going into effect
See the regulations on winter manure spreading in your state.
5 Min Read
WINTER SPREADING: If you spread manure in winter, be aware of the rules in your state. Some ban winter manure spreading outright while others have specific rules for doing it.SimplyCreativePhotography/Getty images
Winter is upon us, and that means winter manure spreading regulations are going into effect.
Not all states have the same regulations. Some states ban winter manure spreading outright while others allow it under certain conditions.
Read up on the winter manure spreading regulations for your state:
Connecticut. There is no winter manure spreading ban.
Delaware. The ban started Dec. 7 and is in effect until Feb. 14. Liming, free of nitrogen or phosphorus, is permitted. Outside of that time frame, applying nitrogen or phosphorus fertilizers is prohibited if the surface area is covered by snow or frozen. If you have questions or concerns, call 302-698-4558 or email [email protected].
Maine. The ban started Dec. 1 and is in effect until March 15. You may be eligible for an exemption. Read more here.
Maryland. The ban will be in effect from Dec. 16 to March 1. Farmers may resume spreading March 1 based on their nutrient management plan recommendations, and as long as fields are not saturated, snow-covered or hard-frozen.
Farmers are required to store liquid manure generated on their farms in designated structures. The state ag department is authorized to assist livestock farmers in preventing overflows from these storage structures and in minimizing impacts on water quality. In the event of a potential overflow, farmers must contact the nutrient management program for emergency authorization before any spreading occurs.
Temporary field stockpiling of “stackable” poultry litter and other qualifying organic nutrient sources is permitted if the moisture content is 60% or less. However, farmers are not allowed to apply stackable organic nutrient sources to fields during the winter months under any conditions.
For more information on the winter ban, visit the department’s nutrient management program website.
Massachusetts. There is no winter spreading ban. But the Department of Food and Agriculture has recommendations:
If winter application is required, only spread manure on sod-covered fields where it won't run off easily.
Don't spread in early spring as soil is often saturated.
Don't spread on sloped lands or areas where manure could seep into water sources.
Don't spread manure within 200 feet of a water source unless it is incorporated into the soil within 72 hours.
Michigan. There is no winter manure ban, but the following guidelines should be followed:
Solid manure should only be applied to areas where slopes are 6% or less.
Liquid manure should only be applied to soils where slopes are 3% or less.
In either situation, provisions must be made to control runoff and erosion with soil and water conservation practices, such as vegetative buffer strips between surface waters and soils where manure is applied.
Concentrated animal feeding operations are banned from winter-applying manure for the first three months of the year, unless the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is notified and along with these stipulations:
Frost is less than 2 inches.
Snow is less than 4 inches.
Soil tests are low for phosphorus and nitrogen.
The application site is more than 100 feet from water.
Manure is immediately injected or incorporated into the field.
New Hampshire. There is no official ban, but the Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food recommends farmers not apply nutrients during winter when ground is frozen or snow-covered because of the high risk of runoff.
New York. There is no official ban. However, there are guidelines pertaining to concentrated animal feeding operations that must be followed. There are no specific regulations for farms outside the CAFO permit program related directly to winter manure spreading, but under the state’s Environmental Conservation Law, farms are not allowed to create a water-quality violation.
Ohio. Ohio has adopted the Natural Resources Conservation Service 590 code, revised in 2000 for the entire state, except for the Grand Lake St Marys watershed, where there is a winter ban on manure application — regardless of farm size — from Dec. 15 to March 1.
In the remainder of the state, permitted farms are not allowed to apply manure in the winter unless it is an extreme emergency, and then movement to other suitable storage is usually the selected alternative.
For non-permitted operations, if the manure can be incorporated at application time, or incorporated with 24 hours after application, frozen ground application is allowed. The old rules allowing manure application in the Western Lake Erie Basin are now assumed to be overruled by the revised 590 standards.
Winter manure application standards limit solid manure application amounts to 5 tons per acre and liquid manure application amounts to 5,000 gallons per acre. These have 200-foot setback distances from ditches, streams and creeks and must be on slopes of less than 6% and less than 20-acre areas in size without additional buffers.
Pennsylvania. Manure spreading is discouraged anytime between Dec. 15 and Feb. 28, anytime the ground is snow-covered, or if the soil is frozen 4 inches or deeper. The following guidelines are for farms operating under a Manure Management Plan. Concentrated animal operations or concentrated animal feeding operations should consult their nutrient application plan:
Maintain a setback of 100 feet from streams, lakes, ponds, sinkholes, drinking water wells and aboveground inlets to agricultural drainage systems.
Don't spread on slopes greater than 15%. These would be soils listed with “D" or “E" codes on a soil survey map.
Limit winter application rates to less than or equal to 5,000 gallons an acre of liquid manure, 20 tons an acre of solid non-poultry manure or 3 tons an acre of solid poultry manure. You can also use a nutrient balance sheet to determine the phosphorus-balanced rate of manure for the next crop, and apply equal to or less than that rate.
Don't spread on fields with less than 25% crop residue cover unless a cover crop has been planted there.
Prioritize winter spreading on fields with living plant cover, such as cover crops, hayfields or pastures.
List fields that will receive winter manure applications in the “Winter Application Worksheet" of your Manure Management Plan. Also, make a note of the fields that will receive winter spreading on your farm map and indicate the slopes in those fields.
Vermont. The ban is in effect from Dec. 15 to April 1. An exemption may be considered for emergency situations only, such as structural failure of a waste storage facility. If a farmer anticipates having an issue before or during the ban, contact Nate Sands for assistance with planning winter manure management at 802-224-6850.
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