Summer Annual Seeds Scarce this Spring

By: Lynn Stillwell, Agriculture Extension Agent, Livestock

March is here and spring is in the air. Soon summer grasses will be greening up for a new grazing season. If your pasture rotation usually includes summer annuals such as Pearl Millet you may be out of luck or out of cash.

Remember that drought we had last summer? With the mild winter that’s brought several inches of rain, last year’s drought may have slipped your mind. However, if you go to purchase seed this year a sore reminder will be applied to your wallet. Seed prices for summer annuals have skyrocketed, due to the severe drought in Texas causing a shortage in seed production and supply. Current prices for Pearl Millet seed range from $78 for a 50lb bag of seed to a whopping $100 online. Its only March, and Red River Crabgrass is already sold out most places until fall or offering it for an astronomical $325 for a 50lb bag.

With seed prices skyrocketing due to shortage, if you plan on having summer annuals for grazing this Livestock Agent suggests you stock up now because prices are only going to climb. If you cannot afford to spend 78-100 a bag for Millet or other seed you may need to better manage your perennial pastures, invest in poly wire and do intensive rotational grazing to get the most out of you pastures this spring and summer. No one wants to have to feed your winter hay supply in July. For more information on pastures or rotational grazing contact the Cooperative Extension Office 910-592-7161.

Maintaining Lagoon Health

By: Lynn Stillwell

Extension Livestock Agent, Sampson

With only five more weeks till spring, it is time to begin planning for the growing season ahead. On your to do list of things that are broken and need fixing make sure you check your lagoon to make sure it is still working properly. A lagoons health can deteriorate very quickly if not maintained properly.

The way most lagoons work is as solids build up, anaerobic bacteria also builds up. These bacteria do not need oxygen to survive, so do not let anyone talk you into aerating your lagoon (not the same as agitating). As these anaerobic bacteria multiply, they release carbon dioxide, which shows up as tiny bubbles on the surface. Soon after the bubbling begins, purple sulfur bacteria become active. These bacteria release a purple color during digestion as well as the smell associated with lagoons. If you have both bubbles and purple/pink you know the bacteria are working hard to digest the solids at the bottom of your lagoon. This activity is greater during the summer time, explaining why some lagoons don’t turn pink till it warms up.

Once your lagoon has the right amount of biological activity you need to maintain it to prevent building up solids too quickly. Bacteria can die off for many reasons, such as: washing down your house with disinfectant, overloading the lagoon with liquids or solids, heavy rain, and extreme temperatures. These factors can all affect pH, which can reduce the bacteria activity in your lagoon. Collecting an accurate and reliable waste sample is a great way to monitor the health of your lagoon. 7.5 is a good pH for a lagoon, if it is too low (less than 6.0) you may need to add lime at a rate of 1lb per cubic foot of liquid.

If your lagoon is collecting a lot of solids quickly, is black in color, or low bubble activity you need to take action to improve it. Ignoring your lagoon or poor management can lead to having to cleanout sooner than expected. Agitating is a great management tool if your sludge levels are increasing drastically. Regularly agitating (especially in the summer) suspends the solids in your lagoon and increases biological activity. This method is proven to work really well.

If you choose to agitate remember to sample the water after you do so to check the nitrogen and phosphorus levels, as they will probably be higher. Allow the solids to settle before pumping so as to not wear out your equipment. NC Cooperative Extension does not recommend lagoon additives as part of your lagoon maintenance because they are not a reliable way to decrease sludge.

Another important aspect to maintaining a healthy lagoon is maintaining water levels in your lagoon. Constantly pumping down to the sludge deceases biological activity and causes sludge to build up faster. With a bit of proper management and planning can go a long way for your lagoon. Lagoons are like any other equipment at your farm they only work properly when taken care of and maintained. They demand your attention and without it they drain your wallet. Please contact the Cooperative Extension office if you have any questions.

Maintenance and Winterization of Irrigation Equipment

By: Lynn Stillwell, Agriculture Extension Agent, Swine and Waste Management

With summer long gone and winter rapidly approaching it is time to take a few moments to inspect and maintain your irrigation equipment. This ensures the longevity of the equipment, helps minimize any unexpected downtime when you need to irrigate later in the season. It can also reduce the risk of discharges of wastes, which can cause environmental damage and possible fines for your farm.

Hard Hose Travelers

When inspecting your hard hose travelers ensure that all pressure gauges are working properly and replace any broken or gauges that aren’t reading properly. If it is a liquid filled gauge check the level and refill with glycerin or hydraulic fluid if necessary. You should lubricate travelers according to the manufacture’s recommendation; this includes chains, and any points of turning. Inspect nozzles and rings for wear. This is often done during your bi-annual calibration, but can be done using calipers to measure the rings.

Pay close attention to intake lines. Check for wear and holes. Replace worn lines or broken couplings. If you are not planning on irrigating this winter it is best to store travelers under a shelter to keep dry and clean.ny points of turning. Inspect nozzles and rings for wear. This is often done during your bi-annual calibration, but can be done using calipers to measure the rings.

Diesel Pumps

Maintenance of your pumps is essential to ensure good working order, especially if you don’t plan on irrigating until next spring. Make sure all gauges are working properly. Check seals and connections to minimize leaks, replace where needed. Make sure air and pressure relief valves are free from debris.

Pivots

Before performing any maintenance or service checks insure power is turn off. Drain and refill wheel oil annually. Check emergency-stop or auto reverse devices or switches. Drain grit traps periodically and monitor for excess accumulation and nozzle wear. Check all seals, flanges and couplings for leaks or wear. On sprinkler heads check for wear and remove any debris from splash plates and wobbler heads.

Proper maintenance of your irrigation equipment can insure that they are working properly for each irrigation event and help decrease wear and tear on the equipment. Regular maintenance can also help reduce operating costs or costs from replacing damaged equipment. Preparing now can help save headaches in the spring. Contact the Extension office for more information or for a free calibration of you irrigation equipment.

Top 10 Reasons to Improve Grazing Programs on Your Farm

Source: Dr. Garry D. Lacefield, Extension Forage Specialist, University of Kentucky

Grazing is an excellent way to utilize forage that is already available, either through sprayfields, or through non-sprayfields. Grazing is an efficient way to feed the animal as well as remove canopy. If grazing is managed properly, farmers can get more good out of what their animals are eating and make it go further, which is particularly important when fuel and feed costs are high. There are ten excellent reasons to improve your grazing programs through controlled grazing:

1) Wasting of forage by animals decreases. Rotational grazing or other controlled grazing methods can increase utilization versus continuous grazing, where animals are kept on virtually the same area continuously. Research (cited by Lacefield 2009) shows that in four different states, gain per acre increased with rotational versus continuous grazing. With less wastage in the pasture, this equates to potentially lower feed costs.

2) Overall forage yield has higher potential for increase. The optimal time for grazing is when plants are in their vegetative stage. Continuous grazing usually results in some plants being overgrazed and unable to repair and some plants are not grazed and become overly mature. When rotational grazing is used, the plant is grazed at the optimal time (usually) then has a period of rest and regrowth for another grazing. This method produces a higher yield than continuous grazing because plants are continuous at their optimum production stage for photosynthesis (VPI Bull. #45; cited by Lacefield 2009). When stocking rates are high, leaf area goes down and the plant cannot produce as much food for itself because of lower photosynthesis rates. As a result, the plant is weaker and growth of the plant slows down. During times of too much plant for the animals to graze, those plants could be harvested for hay.

3) Quality of forage increases. During continuous grazing, the majority of the plants in the pasture are either overgrazed or undergrazed, resulting in a very short or very mature plant. Quality with very mature plants is much lower than quality with plants at the vegetative stage. To increase quality, it’s best to have animals grazing when quality is optimum – normally at the vegetative stage with leaf growth is tender for animals to eat and abundant. Forage quality normally is at its highest when leaf count is high as well. Rotational grazing allows you to manage your pastures to put animals on the paddocks with high leaf content (Mathews et al. University of Florida 1994; cited by Lacefield 2009).

4) Potential for extending the grazing season increases. Because there is less wasting, more forage is available for a longer period of time because the forage you have on your farm can carry the animals over longer. According to Lacefield, during drought conditions, rotational grazing results in more pasture over a longer period of time compared to continuous grazing.

5) Potential for stand persistence of established forages increases. Some types of forages withstand grazing pressure better than others. In our area, bermudagrass tends to tolerate grazing pressure between than fescue, especially if the grass is not drought-stressed. If you allow any plant a rest period, that plant has more potential to make food for itself, grow faster and out-compete weeds, provided all its other needs are taken care of. This can result in improved stand density for forages.

6) Animal performance increases. Incorporating rotational grazing practices has the potential to increase the amount of gain achieved per acre and the amount of gain per animal, as well as a decrease in the amount of supplemental feed. According to Dr. Carl Hoveland at the University of Georgia, using rotational grazing instead of continuous grazing resulted in a 38% increase in gain per acre (stocking rate), 37% increase in gain per animal, and a 32% decrease in the amount of hay fed/animal.

7) Potential to observe animal health increases. There is not specific data that directly links animal health to rotational grazing that I am aware of (also Lacefield 2009), but common sense would suggest that when you move animals on a fairly frequent basis, that you are able to observe any health symptoms or anything amiss in your herd. One would hope that as you are able to notice these signs, you can better treat and respond to problems as they occur.

8) Positive impact on water quality increases. As pastures are not overgrazed, there is less potential for runoff and erosion, and therefore, we could expect better soil quality as well. There are other factors that influence water quality besides rotation of pastures, as well, including access by animals to surface waters, number of waterers and common areas, and annual forage versus perennial forage. The distribution of animal waste is also more uniform when rotational grazing is used.

9) Amount of profit per acre has potential to increase. Research from Penn State (Cunningham and Hanson 1995) shows that when compared to continuous grazing, hay, and corn silage, intensive grazing practices, such as rotational grazing results in a higher profit per acre. This would depend on the weather, forage, management, etc. but it makes sense that because you’re better using what you already have, you end up coming out better for your budget too.

10) Competition with weeds potentially decreases. If the forage you have is better able to compete and grow under grazing conditions, it stands to reason that the forage is better able to grow competitively with weeds, which many publications allude to (Lacefield 2009, University of Minnesota Extension Service Grazing Systems Planning Guide). Although rotational grazing will not completely eliminate the need for weed control, in most cases it will help the producer better manage weed control in a more efficient way.

All this being said, rotational grazing may still not be right for you and your operation. It takes time, materials, and quite a bit of management to effectively use rotational grazing. Simply buying the fencing materials is not enough – you must incorporate proper fertilization, forage selection, pest management, and sound breeding practices and selection to achieve good overall results. Rotational grazing does have its disadvantages as well, including increased fencing and waterer potential cost and increased monitoring and management requirements. However, if you have the resources to accomplish rotational grazing effectively and your goals are similar to the advantages, you as a producer may consider incorporating it into your farm.

Letter From DENR Regarding Water Quality Study

Subject:

Study of North Carolina Swine Operations

As you may recall, the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) recently considered a rule that would have required individual farms to take water quality samples from streams adjacent to the farm. The rule had been proposed by the Waterkeepers Alliance through a Petition for Rulemaking submitted to the EMC in 2007. After careful consideration, the EMC decided not to adopt this rule.

In response to comments received from those opposed to the draft rule during the public hearing process, the EMC agreed that it would be more appropriate for the Division of Water Quality (DWQ) to do a study of streams adjacent to swine operations rather than requiring individual farmers to take water quality samples.

DWQ, in cooperation with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), will be taking water quality samples from streams adjacent to a number of swine operations in 2012. Swine operations will be grouped together based on site characteristics (such as farm size and available acreage). Sampling locations will then be chosen at random from each grouping.

The purpose of this letter is to make you aware that the stream(s) adjacent to your farm(s) may be one of those randomly chosen to be monitored in this study. Samples will be collected and analyzed by the USGS. The sample results will not be used for determination of compliance with your permit. If a stream adjacent to your farm(s) is selected, you will be contacted by DWQ staff at a later date.

1636 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1636 Location: 2728 Capital Blvd., Raleigh, North Carolina 27604 Phone: 919-733-3221 \ FAX: 919-715-0588 \ Customer Service: 1-877-623-6748 Internet: www.ncwaterquality.org

An Equal Opportunity \ Affirmative Action Employer«Owner_Name» October 20, 2011 Page 2

A copy of the Study Plan prepared by USGS may be downloaded at our website: http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wq/aps/afo

If you have any questions about this letter or the Study Plan, please feel free to contact me at (919) 715-6697.

cc:

Sincerely,

Keith Larick, Supervisor Animal Feeding Operations Unit

Calibration and Sludge Surveys

All farms are required to calibrate their irrigation equipment and perform a sludge survey. General Permit Farms are required to calibrate at least once every two years and perform a sludge survey every year. NPDES farms must complete both every year. Remember you can apply for an exemption/

extension on how often you need to perform a sludge survey.

You can send the attached Sludge Exemption Letter and a copy of your most recent survey to DWQ. If your ratio of sludge layer volume to total treatment volume is 40% or 0.40 or less,

I recommend sending in an exemption request. DWQ will review your request

and inform you if they approved the exemption or not. You may contact the Extension office to schedule a free sludge survey or calibration.

Storm Warning Permit Information

On October 1, 2009, your general permit changed and some of the permit conditions changed too. Below is the new land application rule in regards to a Hurricane Warning, Tropical Storm Warning or a Flood Watch. If you have any questions, call the Extension Office at 910-592-7161.

Section II 22. Land application of waste is prohibited during precipitation events. The Permittee shall consider pending weather conditions in making the decision to land apply waste and shall document the weather conditions at the time of land application on forms supplied or approved by the Division.

Land application of waste shall cease within four (4) hours of the time that the National Weather Service issues a Hurricane Warning, Tropical Storm Warning, or a Flood Watch associated with a tropical system including a hurricane, tropical storm or tropical depression for the county in which the permitted facility is located. Watches and warnings are posted on the National Weather Service’s website located at www.weather.gov or by calling the Wilmington NWS office at 910-762-4289.

Changes To State Laws That May Affect Swine Farms

There are several changes from the NC General Assembly that affects swine farms. Below are some excerpts from the July 6^th and 26^th Porkline from the North Carolina Pork Council by Angie Whitener. This describes some of the new laws and how they may impact you.

State Budget Brings Changes to Swine Inspections

Appropriations Act of 2011 became law. To balance the budget, lawmakers had to close a $2.5 billion hole. As a result, there were many policy changes included in the budget bill in an effort to trim overhead, streamline services and end programs to reduce spending. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) experienced the most significant of these policy changes, with the transfer of both the Division of Soil and Water Conservation and the Division of Forestry from DENR to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The budget also made changes to the pork industry's inspection program. In the past, there have been two annual inspections performed on permitted swine farms: a technical inspection by the Division of Soil and Water Conservation and a regulatory inspection performed by the Division of Water Quality. As of July, swine farms will no longer receive an annual technical inspection from the Division of Soil and Water Conservation. Although that annual requirement no longer exists, two technical specialist positions were retained in the Division of Soil and Water, in part to provide technical assistance, conduct voluntary inspections, and respond to critical emergencies. There were no changes to the annual regulatory inspections performed by the NC Division of Water Quality. There was also no change to the Animal Waste Pilot Program currently operating in Pender, Jones, Columbus and Brunswick Counties. Counties in the Pilot are inspected twice annually by the Division of Soil and Water. In the budget bill, the program was slated to expire on June 30, 2011, but in the Budget Technical Corrections bill passed in the final days of the session, the program was extended until June 2013. Even though the program was extended, funding was not provided. So, Pilot Program inspections will likely be performed by one of the technical specialists retained to perform the voluntary technical inspections that will be done by the Division of Soil and Water Conservation. The budget established a new policy for anyone receiving a notice of violation (NOV) of an environmental statute or rule. The new policy provides a 10-day grace period between the time the NOV is issued and a civil penalty is assessed. The purpose of this grace period is to provide the person a greater opportunity to understand what corrective action is needed and either receive technical assistance and take corrective action or informally resolve matters involving the violation. A new program called the Agricultural Water Resources Assistance Program was established with passage of the budget. The program, which was funded with an initial $1 million, will provide cost-share funds to assist farmers and landowners in increasing water use efficiency, availability, and storage; implement best management practices to conserve and protect water resources; and to increase water availability for agricultural purposes. The program will be administered by the Soil and Water Conservation Commission.

Swine Farm Siting Act Amended

In 1995, a law called the "Swine Farm Siting Act" was enacted, establishing setback requirements when locating a new swine farm. The law requires that - unless written permission is given by the owner of the adjacent property and recorded with the Register of Deeds - a swine house must be located at least: 1,500 feet from any occupied residence. 2,500 feet from any school, hospital, church, outdoor recreational facility, national park, State Park, historic property, or child care center. 500 feet from any property boundary. 500 feet from any well supplying water to a public water system. 500 feet from any other well that supplies water for human consumption. Enforcement of this law lies only with the facility or property owner in the affected setback area. If a swine farm sited after October 1, 1995, violates the setbacks without obtaining permission from affected property owners, those property owners may bring a civil action against the swine facility. While swine facilities in existence prior to passage of that law in 1995 were not required to make changes to meet the new setbacks, the law has never been clear on whether a renovation or reconstruction on one of those existing farms would have to meet the setbacks. There are many reasons a swine house may need a renovation or reconstruction, including the expansion of a sow barn when moving to pen gestation or, as some pork producers found out in mid-April of this year: when a swine house is destroyed by tornado. NCPC first sought clarification of this law several years ago to protect a farmer from being exposed to civil action when making these needed renovations or reconstructions of existing barns in a setback area. The new law allows for renovations and reconstructions on swine houses built before October 1, 1995, as long as those renovations or reconstructions do not increase the permitted capacity of animals on the farm; increase the permitted capacity of the lagoon; result in any part of the updated structure being any closer to the buildings or property covered in the Swine Farm Siting Act; or result in the location or any part of a structure in the 100-year flood plain.

New Law to Address Growing Feral Swine

In 2009, NCPC initiated a stakeholder process to examine the growing problem of feral swine in NC and to identify any policy changes that might address the potential spread of disease from feral swine to our domestic herd. This year, legislation emerged that aims to stop the transport of feral swine into and around the state. The new law will go into effect on October 1, 2011. The new law will: Require identification approved by the state veterinarian's office of all swine in transport. (Swine currently transported using group/lot ID as accepted under federal law for interstate transport will also be sufficient in meeting this requirement.) Make it illegal to transport a swine without identification, punishable by a $5,000 per head fine and a Class 2 misdemeanor. Make it unlawful to remove any hog from a trap alive and impose up to a $5,000 per animal penalty if caught. Place feral swine under jurisdiction of the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, requiring a hunting license to hunt these animals but with no season or bag limits imposed

Landowner Protection Act

The new law will require anyone going onto posted land to hunt, fish or trap to have written consent of the property owner. The written and signed permission will have to be carried on one's person and shown to any law enforcement officer upon request. Failure to obtain permission will result in a misdemeanor. The new law also makes it easier for landowners to post their land, providing that in addition to posting property with signs, landowners may spray paint trees along the perimeter of their land with purple paint to indicate that the property is posted. The law will go into effect October 1, 2011.

EMC Declines to Adopt Proposed Monitoring Rule

The N.C. Environmental Management Commission (EMC) declined to adopt a proposed rule that was initiated in 2007 by a rule-making petition filed by the Waterkeepers Alliance. The proposed rule would have required farmers to take water samples at all permitted animal operations. The decision was based on the recommendations of a three-member panel of EMC members assigned to the case. The panel of hearing officers held public hearings across the state and reviewed hundreds of comments from hearing from both opponents and proponents of the proposed rule. After the hearings, the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources directed the Division of Water Quality (DWQ) to look into conducting a study of the proposed rule. In May of this year, DWQ and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) finalized a contract to perform a multi-year study of possible surface water impacts related to animal operations. At the recent EMC meeting, the three member panel of hearing officers said that they did not believe that the proposed monitoring rules would yield useful data that would provide a corresponding benefit to water quality and recommended that the full EMC not adopt the proposed rules. The panel also recommended that the EMC review the results of that study underway by DWQ and the USGS and that if the results of the study should indicate a need for monitoring, rules could again be considered. Further, if considered, the results of the study should be used to determine the type and frequency of monitoring to be performed.

Hurricane Irene

Please be aware that while Sampson County is not currently under a Hurricane Warning, we are under a Flood watch starting at 6pm this evening. You must cease pumping within 4 hours of this watch coming into effect. If you have questions regarding your waste permit or sustain damage during the storm please contact me on my cell phone.

Also please be aware, that starting at 6pm the livestock facility located at 93 Agriculture Place will be open as a pet shelter. Pets must have identification and be up to date on all shots.