Proposed changes to Manitoba’s manure regulations could force many hog producers out of business, especially those in the southeastern part of the province, warns the Manitoba Pork Council.
The Manitoba government is considering changes to address the issue of phosphorus, a nutrient that can affect water quality. The discussion is focused on recommendations prepared by Manitoba Conservation’s phosphorus expert committee, such as restricting manure applications once soil test phosphorus concentrations go beyond certain thresholds and prohibiting manure applications on fields where concentrations are above 180 parts per million, a level the committee considers excessive.
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Recommendations also propose banning all winter applications of manure in the Red River Valley and in the flood plains of other Manitoba rivers.
The pork council worries about harm to producers if restrictions become law before hog operations can adjust.
In southeastern Manitoba, for example, due to a higher concentration of intensive livestock operations, there are fields where phosphorus concentrations would trigger restrictions on manure applications under the proposed standards.
Manitoba Pork Council general manager Andrew Dickson said there is a limited land base in that region for spreading manure. Until now, hog operations in the area have focused on complying with the nitrogen-based manure management rules.
“If we go to phosphorus, they’re going to require, in some cases, two to seven times the land base to apply the manure. That land simply does not exist. It is already tied up.”
To overcome that problem, producers would need to clear and drain more land in southeastern Manitoba, which Dickson doubts the province and municipalities would want.
Other alternatives would be costly treatments to remove phosphorus from the manure before it was applied to fields or trimming the number of hogs in barns, a move that could make barns unprofitable, he said.
As for banning winter applications of manure in the Red River Valley, Dickson said it would put smaller hog operations in a bind because they often have only enough manure storage capacity for 40 to 50 days. Building storage that could hold manure for a year could cost up to $40,000.
The pork council suggests that existing hog producers be given a transition period to adjust to the proposed changes, rather than having to comply the moment they become law.
One possibility would be to grandfather existing barns and to then move them toward full compliance over the course of 15 years, Dickson said.
“We agree there’s an issue that has to be dealt with. The hog industry is prepared to do its part but it’s going to take time and we are going to need financial assistance in certain key areas, especially for the smaller producers and for developing technologies.”
Public concern about the effects of phosphorus on water quality has prompted the province’s decision. It takes only small concentrations of phosphorus to foster growth of algae.
“There is increasing awareness of problems with surface water quality,” said Al Beck, manager of Manitoba Conservation’s environmental livestock program. “The stimulus for that is primarily phosphorus.”
However, Beck said livestock manure isn’t the only target. The province is also looking at commercial fertilizers applied to crops, the spreading of sludge from municipal sewage treatment plants, the disposal of private sewage through septic fields and the fertilizing of lawns.
Manitoba Conservation is consulting with stakeholders about the recommendations and wants to wrap up the consultations by the end of September, Beck said. The next phase would be to invite broader public input.
Dickson pointed out that Manitoba’s hog industry has invested heavily in manure management research, including the more than $1.5 million contributed to the Manitoba Livestock Manure Management Initiative.
Using the enzyme phytase and closely monitoring the addition of mineral phosphate in hog rations, close to half the industry has been able to trim phosphorus by 40 percent in the past four years, according to the pork council.
Consultations are also being held on water quality management zones for Manitoba. Dickson is concerned that soil survey maps will be used to decide what level of nutrients should be in soil in different parts of the province, adding they are not detailed enough for that purpose.
