WSDA Doles Out $35K Through DNMP

Last week, the Washington state Department of Agriculture announced the recipients of eight water quality projects funded by fines issued to dairies. The fines were issued to operations for improper recordkeeping or manure management. The WSDA said its Dairy Nutrient Management Program works with dairies across the state to make sure they handle manure in ways that minimize the risks of impacting ground water or surface water quality.

The DNMP works to educate and support dairy farms in proper handling of manure and waste water, but in cases of non-compliance or repeat offenses, monetary penalties are sometimes issued per the Dairy Nutrient Management Act. These penalties fund the Livestock Nutrient Management Account. Account funds pay for grants to conservation districts, universities, or other interested parties proposing projects to help dairies comply with state and federal water quality laws. This year, the program awarded more than $35,000 for water quality related research or education for dairies.

The following projects received grants:

Snohomish Conservation District – Targeted Record Keeping Education and Outreach to Snohomish County Dairy Producers: One-on-one outreach to dairies, providing technical assistance to improve recordkeeping and encourage Best Management Practice adoption.
Whatcom Conservation District – Implementation of an Educational Signage Program for the Promotion of Cover Crops on Dairy Farms: Ten, two-sided signs will be placed in fields with cover crops, to educate farmers and community members about how cover crops improve water quality.
Whatcom Conservation District – Manure Matters Outreach – Web, Social Media, Radio, Newspaper: Education to inform the public why manure is used, what laws and rules apply to manure use, and the steps dairies take to protect water quality.
Skagit Conservation District – Fecal Coliform Re-growth Research: Skagit Valley College and Skagit Conservation District will try to identify conditions where fecal coliform regrowth is the leading source bacteria found in water samples.
South Yakima Conservation District – Education Outreach Workshop Training for Dairy Producers: Nov. 7, 2018 workshop for dairies in Yakima, covering required recordkeeping, soil test analysis interpretation, cover crops, irrigation, composting, and soil health.
Underwood Conservation District – Underwood Conservation District Trout Lake Microbial Source Tracking: Microbial source tracking analysis of water samples to help identify sources of bacteria in the Trout Lake Basin.
Organix, Inc. – Educational Field Day: Converting a Dairy Lagoon to a BioFiltro BIDA® system: Field day to show how converting a dairy lagoon to the BioFiltro BIDA® system (a giant worm bin) will remove nutrients from dairy manure liquid.
Washington State University – Nutrient Application Recordkeeping Calendar: Educational calendar that focuses on recordkeeping required to demonstrate agronomic application of manure nutrients.