About the EQIP Waste Storage Sign-up

Overview of the 2005 Waste Storage Sign-up

The EQIP signup for waste storage will again be held on a statewide basis from December 1, 2004, through April 29, 2005. Applications may be taken at any Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Service Agency (FSA), or Land Conservation Department office. Farmers interested in EQIP cost share for waste storage facilities are encouraged to begin signing up immediately. A closing date at which time all applications received will be evaluated and ranked has not been set at this time. The closing date cannot be set until cost share funds arrive in state. Typically, EQIP funds have arrived in February.  Once funds do arrive the closing date of the evaluation period will be announced.

Waste storage facilities will be cost shared at a rate of 70 percent.  The cost share limit for a waste storage system is $75,000.  More information about EQIP.

General Eligibility: In order to be eligible to signup for waste storage the applicant must be determined to be an eligible producer. The land offered for the EQIP must also be determined eligible by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The producer must also be able to demonstrate control of the land for the contract period through ownership or lease prior to the end of the application ranking period.  Eligible land for the waste storage signup is land that has a resource concern identified by a certified conservation planner that the waste storage practice will address. The producer must complete and sign all necessary forms including the CCC-1200 (which is the official application) prior to the end of the ranking period.

To be eligible for cost share the producer must not have started the practice prior to having an EQIP contract approved by the CCC representative.

Eligibility Specific to Waste Storage: A producer applying for this signup must provide soil test results done according to University of Wisconsin recommendations (A2809). The soil test must have been completed within the past four years. Soil tests must be provided on all lands that are owned by the producer and on which wastes are applied. The applicant must demonstrate the availability of a minimum of one acre per animal unit of cropland for land application of manure (the soil test results must cover this acreage).  Number of animal units are based on the number of animals at the site, or the number of animals for which the facility is planned, whichever is larger.  Soil test results must be provided PRIOR to the close of the sign-up period in order to be eligible for this sign-up.

Producers must also provide a final design for the waste storage structure OR a preliminary design PRIOR TO the close of the signup period in order to be eligible for this signup. The final or preliminary design must be completed by a registered engineer in Wisconsin, or someone with NRCS job approval authority, or a DATCP Agricultural Engineering Practitioner Certification. A preliminary design must at minimum incorporate items 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the attached checklist. Please see the checklist for the specific requirements of a preliminary design.

A walk-through of the site must also be completed prior to the final due date for applications to be sent to the NRCS State Office for final ranking.  This walk-through will determine the need for additional farmstead practices and any upland treatment needed. The producer must agree to perform all practices that are identified as needed. These practices may also be part of the application for waste storage and eligible for EQIP cost share funds. This walk through is an inventory for a Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP). Details of the walk through are shown on the attached CNMP checklist. A CNMP is required for all applicants who are granted a contract for a waste storage facility through EQIP.

The CNMP walk through will also identify other potential sources of wastewater such as barnyard runoff and leachate from bunker silos. Any existing practices directly relating to waste storage must have met existing NRCS standards at the time of construction in order for the site to be eligible. Existing practices relating to the storage facility include, but are not limited to 313 Waste Storage Facility and 634 Manure Transfer.

There will be two pools cost share funds for waste storage: livestock farmers with less than 300 animal units, and operations with 300 or more animal units. The majority of funding will go to operations with less than 300 animal units. For the purposes of separating the producers into their appropriate pool, the number of animal units will be based on the number of animals for which the waste storage facility is designed, or the number of animal units at the site, whichever is larger.

All NRCS personnel entering the farm as a minimum will wear disposable footwear while on site. At the end of the visit the footwear will be left at the site at a location of the producer’s choosing for proper disposal to prevent any contamination. NRCS employees will implement additional biosecurity practices as required by the producer’s biosecurity plan.

Applicants who rank high enough to be selected for plan development and contracting must have a conservation plan developed. The conservation plan will outline the practices that will be included on the contract, and develop a preliminary schedule for implementing practices.

All identified needed upland practices and farmstead practices must be completed according to NRCS standards prior to any cost share funds being provided for the waste storage facility. Producers are limited to one waste storage facility cost shared through EQIP.

A cost shared practice must be started within 12 months of contract approval by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) representative. Once begun, the producer is expected to make continuous progress towards implementation. Failure to commence a practice within 12 months of contract approval will result in contract termination unless circumstances beyond the producer’s control prevented the start of the practice.

1. Conduct a management assessment.
   • See Agricultural Waste Management Field Handbook
   • Chapter 10, Companion Document 313-2, Management Assessment Worksheet
2. Conduct a site assessment
   • See Agricultural Waste Management Field Handbook
   • Chapter 10, Companion Document 313-3, Site Assessment Worksheet
3. Identify all components needed to address clean water diversion, lot runoff, milking center wastes, other waste sources, manure transfer and waste storage (CNMP inventory checklist).
4. Perform soil borings in manure transfer, waste storage, buffer, or wastewater treatment strip areas per the applicable standard requirements.
5. Perform a preliminary design for needed components.
6. Prepare conceptual drawings for the components.
7. Compute an estimated cost for all components of the waste management system.

a. Do the aerial site photographs, maps, or sketches of the livestock operation show the location of manure storage, wells, clean water practices and adjoining surface water?

b. Is all manure generated on the farm captured by the manure collection system?

c. Is a breakdown of Animal Units (AU) currently on the site provided by livestock type and size class? What is the projected AU numbers for the site when fully developed? ____________ AU.

d. Based on the AU in c. has the operation provided documentation that it has an adequate cropland base to dispose of the manure it generates? Has the operation demonstrated control over the cropland used to dispose of it's manure for the life of the Nutrient Management Plan?

e. Are other wastes such as bio-solids, septage, waste feed or whey applied to cropland receiving manure? If so are quantities documented and have proper nutrient credits have been taken?

f. Is waste water from on-farm processes adequately collected, treated or stored (milkhouse/parlor waste, bunker/silage leachate)? Provide documentation.

g. Has an Emergency Action Plan been developed? Does the plan address rescue procedures for accidental entry? Assess potential for system failure? Evaluate potential for accidental discharge of manure from storage and transfer systems? Does the plan address the identified threats?

h. Is dead animal disposal (mortality) adequately addressed?

i. Are medical wastes properly disposed of?

j. Has a farm biosecurity plan been developed and implemented?

k. Are there residences located East and North of the livestock production facilities? Are management practices in effect to reduce odors, particulate matter and gases generated by production facilities and manure storage addressed? If yes provide details.

l. Is there a strategy in place to address tracking of mud and spillage during manure hauling? If yes, provide details.

m. Are Phosphorus levels in diet consistent with UWEX and NRC recommendations?

n. Are visual screens utilized around the production facilities and manure storage structures ?

o. Is the well properly protected from surface water runoff , contamination by manure and damage by vehicles?

p. Are there abandoned wells or wells that do not meet the WI DNR well code on the site? .

q. Are pesticides stored or mixed at the farmstead? Are there bulk quantities of other chemicals (sanitizers, acids, fertilizers ect.) stored on site?

r. Are petroleum products stored at the farmstead?

2. Animal Outputs - Manure & Wastewater Collection, Handling, Storage, Treatment, and transfer Engineering Certification

a. Did waste transfer and storage structures (manure/wastewater) meet NRCS Technical Standards in effect at the time of their construction? Provide documentation.

b. Current manure storage capacity ________ days. Manure storage capacity when operation has expanded to maximum projected AU numbers (see 1.c. above), ______days.

c. Does the manure storage capacity include an accurate estimate of manure and wastewater production by type/source?

d. Is clean water excluded from the manure storage system? If no, have runoff quantities been included in the manure storage capacity calculations?

e. Have required operation and maintenance (O&M) practices/activities been identified and implemented?

f. Are there limitations to the existing site that could limit future expansion? If yes have other locations been considered? Provide details.

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