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Michigan CAFO permits tweaked

The state of Michigan is updating the permitting process for large livestock producers for the first time in five years.

Michigan State University Extension educator Erica Rogers tells Brownfield one of the biggest changes includes a prohibition against spreading manure from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) during January through part of March.

“For those that are just going crops, it could potentially affect them if they are obtaining fertilizer or that CAFO waste.”

Soil testing will also be required from fields where applied.  Farms will also be required to have Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans written and developed by accredited providers.

Rogers says manure storage requirements have also changed which could make current structures outdated.

“The structures are going to have to be put into place to hold six months of storage without the idea of evaporation being there.”

Public hearings on the proposed permit will be held in Adrian, Grand Rapids, and Lansing during December and written comments will be accepted until December 18 for farmers to voice concerns.

Michigan Farm Bureau says the proposal not only increases paperwork and bureaucratic burdens on farms but threatens the viability of many who have complied with past permits and could set a precedent to regulate other parts of the industry.

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