2001 October Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

Earthen storage for liquid manure should be used only when adequate sealing is ensured.

About 31 percent of farms that stored liquid manure used unlined lagoons.

Rain and snowmelt runoff from solid manure piles should be contained.

About 60 percent stored solid manure without roofs or containment.

Manure should be applied when the vigorous growth of crops can best use nutrients, buffer vegetation has grown, and drier soils can absorb liquid manure—not in late fall and winter.

Of the total amount of manure used, 5 percent is applied in the winter, 35 percent in the spring, 20 percent in the summer, and 40 percent in the fall.

Good decisions on nutrient use cannot be made without knowing the supply of nutrients in the soils. At a minimum, sandy soils should be tested every two years, and each field should be tested every three years.

Thirty-three percent of soil area for crops is not tested. Thirty percent of the remainder is tested every year,
50 percent every two to three years, 12 percent every four to five years, and 4 percent every six years or longer.

Adjusting the amount of commercial fertilizer to offset the nutrients present in manure is a good financial practice and prevents nutrient overloading.

Ninety-five percent of farms attempt to reduce the amount of fertilizer to offset the nutrients in manure.

Separating liquid manure from domestic water, rivers, and lakes by less than 30 metres is an extremely poor farming practice.

Four percent of liquid manure (at a minimum) is stored less than 15 metres from the nearest watercourse and less than 30 metres from wells used for domestic purposes.