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Livestock producers must have phosphorus field assessment by January 1, 2007Nebraska Fields listed by concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, as land application sites for manure application must complete a Field Phosphorus Risk Assessment before manure can be applied after Jan. 1, 2007. Confined livestock operations with a maximum one-time capacity of 1,000 beef cattle, 700 dairy cattle, 2,500 swine weighing more than 55 pounds, 55,000 turkeys or 125,000 broilers are automatically considered large CAFOs, said Ken Lamb with the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. Some medium-sized animal feeding operations with fewer animals may need a permit if there is a direct connection between the livestock operation and surface water, Lamb said. Beef feedlots with 200 to 999 head can become defined as a CAFO if surface water runs through the feedlot or the lot is located near intermittent or continuous streams. The phosphorus index should be used to assess the potential for phosphorus loss in runoff, said Charles Wortmann, UNL soils specialist in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. This field assessment can be made any time, including after Jan. 1, as long as it's before any manure is applied to that field. Phosphorus index assessment results need to be kept on file and the assessment needs to be repeated every five years, he said. Two phosphorus indexes are approved for Nebraska. An earlier index is available from the Nebraska Natural Resource and Conservation Service at www.ne.nrcs.usda.gov/. A more recent phosphorus index and use guide is available at http://cnmp.unl.edu/cnmpsoftware2.html. For more information about CAFOs or the phosphorus index, visit UNL's Comprehensive Nutrient Management Planning website at http://cnmp.unl.edu/. "The use of the phosphorus index will enable producers to better understand that best management practices can reduce phosphorus losses," Lamb said. Phosphorus indexes are not difficult to learn, Wortmann said. UNL Extension has conducted and will conduct future training on using the phosphorus index and NRCS field staff and some independent consultants also are trained in using the index. Information about future training will be announced at a later date. For questions regarding the phosphorus assessment tools, contact the NDEQ toll-free at 877-253-2603 or the agricultural section at 402-471-4239. Date: 7/26/06
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