FORUM IDENTIFIES KEY STRATEGIES

FOR MANAGING SHENANDOAH VALLEY ANIMAL MANURE AND LITTER

ROANOKE, VA. – A forum of key farm, business, conservation, academic and government leaders has identified the most promising strategies for addressing excess animal manure and poultry litter produced on Shenandoah Valley farms.

Forum participants -- approximately 80 university scientists, engineers, farmers, waste management facility operators, economists, conservationists, policymakers and government regulators -- convened April 28-29 in Roanoke and agreed to a number of management options or alternative uses for manure and litter that hold the greatest practical and economic potential. A few of the priority approaches include:

Piloting advanced feed management on dairy farms to reduce nutrients in the manure.
Implementing manure-to-energy demonstration projects to produce bio-oils, fertilizers and fuels.
Conducting training workshops on composting technologies.
Establishing a stable and significant source of state and federal funding for agricultural “best management practices” and for innovation grants.

Hundreds of thousands of excess tons of animal manure and poultry litter are produced annually in the Shenandoah Valley, with much of it currently spread as fertilizer on crop fields and pasturelands. There is increasing recognition, however, that innovative solutions are needed both to solve existing water quality problems and to provide technologies for meeting future air and water expectations.

“Thus, we see the challenge for this forum is to develop a strategy for utilizing excess manure and litter generated in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia that is both feasible for working farmers and also eliminates the threat to the Bay and its tributaries,” said Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources W. Tayloe Murphy Jr. in kicking off the Waste Solutions Forum.

The goal of forum participants was to create a detailed action plan for identifying, researching and implementing alternative solutions for the Valley’s animal manure and litter management problems. Finding and implementing such solutions is deemed critical for agriculture to thrive in the Mid-Atlantic region and for the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries to return to good health.

Dr. Katharine Knowlton, Dairy Science Professor at Virginia Tech and chair of the forum steering committee, stated, “The forum identified workable solutions, which build upon our current research findings, but also identified key questions requiring further study.”

Said Ann Jennings, Virginia Executive Director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and a member of the forum’s steering committee, “I believe the forum achieved its objective of developing a collaborative action plan – with specific actions, timelines and responsibilities – that will not only help Virginia’s farmers but also improve Virginia’s water quality as well. This is a great step forward.”

With a high level of energy and enthusiasm, the forum participants brought their varied expertise, experiences and perspectives to the table to identify workable solutions for Virginia’s farmers. Dale Gardner, Executive Secretary of the Virginia State Dairymen’s Association and steering committee member said, “We must move forward and begin implementation of these solutions or risk the loss of the farming economy in the Valley.”

A core group of forum participants, including members of the steering committee, will convene May 17 to begin the work of implementing the Shenandoah strategy. A final report on the recommendations of the forum will be available in June by contacting the Chesapeake Bay Foundation at (804) 780-1392.

A steering committee consisting of representatives from the following agencies or organizations worked over the past 6 months to develop the forum:

Center for Conservation Incentives at Environmental Defense (202) 572-3376

Chesapeake Bay Foundation (804) 780-1392

Pure Water Forum (540) 568-8793

Shenandoah Resource Conservation and Development Council (540) 248-3321

Virginia Association of Counties (804) 343-2504

Virginia Department of Agriculture and Conservation Services (804) 786-3538

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (540) 574-7866

Virginia Cooperative Extension (540) 459-6140

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (804) 786-2235

Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy (804) 692-3224

Virginia Farm Bureau Federation (804) 290-1021

Virginia Poultry Federation (540) 231-2578

Virginia State Dairyman’s Association (540) 434-6722

Virginia Tech, Department of Biological Systems Engineering (540) 231-7605

Virginia Tech, Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Science (540) 231-9739

Virginia Tech, Department of Dairy Science (540) 231-5287

Facilitating the forum and keeping participants on task was the University of Virginia’s Institute for Environmental Negotiation.

Funding for the forum was provided by:

Shared Solutions Agricultural Initiative of the Altria Family of Companies

Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment

Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Center for Conservation Incentives at Environmental Defense

Shenandoah Resource Conservation and Development Council

The Commonwealth of Virginia (Departments of Environmental Quality, Conservation and Recreation, Mines Minerals and Energy, and Agriculture and Consumer Services)

Virginia Farm Bureau Federation

Virginia Poultry Federation

Virginia State Dairymen’s Association

Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

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Pictures of Waste Solutions Forum