North Carolina ranks number two in Hog and Turkey production with around 10 million hogs and 35 million turkeys produced each year. The State also ranks number 5 in broiler production with around 760 million birds. While these animals provide a significant amount of low cost, safe food for us to eat, they also generate a significant amount of waste that must be dealt with by the farmers who raise them. Waste must be regularly removed or cleaned out according to the farmer’s contract and nutrient management plan. This waste must be land applied as fertilizer in accordance with certain laws and management practices.
Transporting tons and thousands of gallons of waste has proved to be not only costly for the farm in terms of dollars spent trying to stay within the regulations set forth by the NC Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR), but also in fines given out by the highway patrol. In years past farmers hauling animal waste from farm to field were continually stopped by Law Enforcement Officers and given heavy fines sometimes amounting to over $1500.00 for their vehicles being overweight.
North Carolina Cooperative Extension worked closely with Elected officials and NC Farm Bureau members throughout the State to get the law changed so that farmers would not accrue these hefty fines. As of December 1, 2010 House Bill 1729 was changed to give exemptions to farmers hauling animal waste from the farm to the field. As long as farmers abide by other regulations for hauling animal waste they should no longer have to worry about being fined for overweight vehicles. So farmers don’t fear filling up those trucks and getting on the road again because those fines should not be brought against you anymore.
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