NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT
Navigating the approvals process while transforming Nutrient Management Plans into Asset Management Plans
The Nutrient Management Act was introduced in Ontario in 2002 and as a result, many livestock operations are now required by law to have an approved nutrient management plan or strategy.
Established early in 2000 Crop Quest is the largest network of agricultural strategists in the Province who prepare Nutrient Management Plans and Nutrient Management Strategies for even the most complex operations. Our team (who carry E & O and WSIB insurance) has been interpreting the Nutrient Management Act and navigating the approvals process for almost twenty years, but one of our greatest strengths lies in finding value where others see only waste.
If you want to make money in farming over the longer term, then nothing on your farm is more important than the health & quality of your soil. Soil is like any major investment and constant withdrawals over time without any consideration given to strategic re-investment will leave us with very little to pass on to future generations and may even threaten long-term sustainability.
One of the most important ways to add life and value to your soil is through the careful application of a resource that all of our nearly 1300 active clients already own…. manure. Manure builds healthier soils and healthier soils produce healthier profits!
Crop Quest’s approach to nutrient management goes a step beyond what most companies provide in that we also offer Comprehensive Nutrient Management Strategies. A Comprehensive Nutrient Management Strategy is a multi-year plan that, through the careful annual application of manure, protects both soil health and soil structure.
Using our proprietary Crop Quest registry, we connect nutrient originators with nutrient end users and then assist them in solidifying that mutually beneficial relationship through a Nutrient Transfer Agreement. This agreement is then built into the originator’s Nutrient Management Strategy and the end user’s Nutrient Management Plan with the end result being that both the originator and the end user are in full compliance with the law and have covered the necessary concept of liability.
Let us show you how to turn your nutrient management plan into an asset management plan while rebuilding your natural capital!
Read more about Nutrient Management Below.
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NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT: HOW & WHY
Hiring a Professional to Prepare Your Nutrient Management Plan
When timely approvals are important you can rely on Crop Quest’s team of dedicated professionals, many of whom qualify under the Recognized Consultant Program (RCP) and have decades of experience in the timely preparation of Nutrient Management Plans, to help.
Developing a Nutrient Management Plan can be a large and complex undertaking but Crop Quest’s Planners are trained to go well beyond regulatory requirements to help you develop a long-term, strategic, whole farm plan that is unique to livestock operations. Crop Quest’s team of Nutrient Planners will help you to develop a comprehensive plan to conserve and recycle nutrients in the most environmentally and economically beneficial manner possible. Enhanced nutrient management practices have been shown to enhance farm profits while minimizing impacts to the environment.
Our team of experts, most of whom are farmers themselves, recognize the need for balancing nutrient inputs and managed outputs for even the largest and most complex livestock operations.
What are the Benefits of Managing Your Nutrients in a Strategy or Plan?
Allows you the time to focus on what you do best
Optimizes the use of on-farm nutrients
Prevents excessive nutrient build-up in soil
Reduces risk of environmental impact
Uses fertilizer as an asset to enhance productivity
Maintains soil health for successful crop production
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WHAT IS A NUTRIENT UNIT?
What is a Nutrient Unit and how many does my farm have?
Nutrient Units
Nutrient units are calculated based on the number of livestock housed on a farm unit. A nutrient unit is defined as the number of animals that will give the fertilizer replacement value of the lower of; 43 kilograms of nitrogen or 55 kilograms of phosphate per year as nutrients.
The number of horses of various sizes that generate nutrients equivalent to or greater than five (5) NU are: 4 large framed horses (mature at >1500 lbs, includes unweaned foal)
5 medium framed horses (mature at 500-1500 lbs, includes unweaned foal)
10 small framed horses (mature at <500 lbs; includes unweaned foal)
Two other examples:
Example #1
Seventy Holstein cows, including all calves and heifers. Also two 40' x 300' two-story chicken broiler barns on a farm across the road. The entire operation is managed as one farm unit.
70 cows ÷ 0.55 (dairy cows / NU, including calves and heifers) 127 NU
48,000 sq. ft. floor broiler growing area ÷ 267 (sq. ft. / NU) 180 NU
Total 307 NU
This farm generates enough nutrients to require a NMS / P by December 31, 2008.
Example #2
1200 finishing pigs, 9000 laying hens, and 60 beef feeders (575 lbs. to 1250 lbs.) The entire operation is managed as one farm unit.
1200 finishing pigs ÷ 6 (finishing pigs / NU) 200 NU
9000 laying hens ÷ 150 (laying hens / NU) 60 NU
60 beef feeders ÷ 3 (beef feeders / NU) 20 NU
Total 280 NU
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WHAT IS NEEDED FOR A PLAN OR STRATEGY?
What is needed for a Nutrient Management Plan or a Nutrient Management Strategy?
A lot of information is required to complete a Nutrient Management Plan or Strategy but good farm records should provide most of what is needed. The Nutrient information we need will be in two categories, Nutrients Produced and Nutrients Used.
Nutrients Produced
Floor plan of existing and proposed livestock barns and manure storage. Most barns are presumed to be full most of the time.
MSTOR calculation (an OMAF program that determines the volume of manure that would be produced).
Nutrient analysis of manure and documentation to verify the effect of feed additives on manure nutrient content. Some default values can be used but they are generally higher than you would like.
Documentation that adequate hauling equipment is available.
Nutrients Used
Field maps showing accurate acreage, slopes, distances to neighboring houses, stream locations and buffer strips, tile outlets, tile inlets (catch basins), known wells.
Soil samples representing 25 acres or less and not more than 3 years old. The sodium bicarbonate test is required. Grid sampling is not required. Default values can be used but are higher than you would like.
Planned crop rotations for the next five years.
Crop yield records. Default yield values are your township crop insurance yields. Proof of yields of more than 120% of that can be used.
Manure use agreements to spread manure on neighboring land if you don't have enough.
The first step of Nutrient Planning is collecting information about your operation
Field Details
Location
Good farmstead maps or aerial photos
Cropping Plans
Sensitive features such as wells and ditches
Soil Sampling
One composite for every 25 acres
Composite has 20 - 25 cores\
Manure Sampling
Considers differences throughout storage
Prepare to sample while emptying storage
Mix/agitate well
Combine many sub-samples, as storage is emptied in a clean container
Take one sample representing either a section of the storage or a field that received the manure
Store in a cool place
A spill contingency plan
Detailing what you would do in the case of a spill