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Expanding a business can have many benefits -- improved profitability and increased efficiency in particular. While a multitude of resources exist to help producers project net farm income from a proposed expansion, a concise resource that examines potential impacts on the environment is difficult to find...until now. This publication presents environmental factors that producers and their advisors should examine as part of expansion planning. Chapters include Land and Water Considerations, Nutrient Management, Odors, Common Concerns Associated with Expansion, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, and Benefits of Whole-Farm Planning (see complete table of contents below). A producer needs to consider much more than the information in this publication when planning an expansion, but expanding without careful consideration of the potential environmental effects can be a business disaster. Illustrations and tables supplement the text.

Expanding a business can bring about many benefits. Foremost among them is improved profitability through increased efficiency. While a multitude of resources exist to help dairy producers project net farm income from a proposed expansion, a concise resource that examines potential impacts on the environment is difficult to find...until now.

A new publication, Environmental Factors to Consider When Expanding Dairies, (NRAES-95) ($9.00 plus S&H/sales tax, 44 pages, June 1999), discussed environmental issues that dairy producers, advisors, and consultants should examine as part of developing an expansion plan. Considering the environmental implications of expansion before expanding helps to prevent cost overruns, preserve environmental quality, protect animal and public health, ensure that current and prospective regulations are achievable, and avoid conflicts with neighbors. In short, it helps to ensure a successfull expansion.

The publication includes six chapters. Chapter 1 discusses land and water considerations, including animal units and nutrient concerns, farmstead location, locating manure storages, and the quantity and quality of available water supplies. Chapter 2, "Nutrient Management," reviews nutrient management plans, using manure as a resource, nutrient export, manure storage versus daily spreading, and pollution control. Chapter 3 is dedicated to one of the major sources of conflict between dairy producers and the public -- odors. The chapter focuses on odor management and treatment methods. The fourth chapter examines common concerns associated with expansion, such as barnyards, pathogens, silos and silage leachate, manure storage, and milking center wastewater storage and treatment. The final two chapters center on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and whole-farm planning. Eight illustrations, fifteenn tables, and an appendix that includes a checklist for CAFO permits supplement the text.

Environmental Factors to Consider When Expanding Dairies was written by Peter Wright, Animal Waste Specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Cornell University and A. Edward Staehr, who was the Farm Business Management Specialist for the Skaneateles Lake Watershed Agricultural Program and is now with Onondaga County Cornell Cooperative Extension. The book was published by the Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service (NRAES).

Environmental Factors to Consider When Expanding Dairies, NRAES-95, is available for $9.00 per copy plus shipping and handling from NRAES, Cooperative Extension, PO Box 4557, Ithaca, New York 14852-4557. Shipping and handling for one copy is $4.25 within the continental United States. New York residents, add sales tax (calculated on both the cost of publications and the shipping and handling charges. Click here for more information). If ordering more than one book or if ordering from outside the United States, contact NRAES for shipping rates and possible quantity discounts. Orders from outside the United States must be prepaid in U.S. funds. All major credit cards are accepted, and checks should be made payable to NRAES. For more information or a free publication catalog, contact NRAES by phone at (607) 255-7654, by fax at (607) 254-8770, or by e-mail at nraes@cornell.edu. To learn more about NRAES, browse through our entire catalog, and order books on-line, visit our web site at www.nraes.org.

List of Figures

List of Tables

Introduction

Chapter 1: Land and Water Considerations

Land Considerations
Animal Units and Nutrient Concerns
Farmstead Location
Potential Expenses
Locating Manure Storages
Suitability of a Site for Manure Spreading
Other Land Considerations
Available Water Supply

Chapter 2: Nutrient Management

Developing a Nutrient Management Plan
Manure Nutrient Properties
Using Manure as a Resource
Nutrient Export
Storage versus Daily Spreading
Nutrient Utilization
Pollution Control

Chapter 3: Odors

Management
Reducing Air-to-Manure Contact
Treatment Methods

Chapter 4: Common Concerns Associated with Expansion

Barnyards
SIDEBAR: Pathogens
Management Practices to Reduce Pathogen Concerns
Pathogen Barriers
Silos
Controlling Silage Leachate
Manure Storage
Manure Production
Bedding
Other Volumes
Milking Center Wastewater
Milking Center Wastewater Treatment Alternatives

Chapter 5: Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

Requirements for a CAFO Permit
More Facts about CAFO's
Changing Regulations
SIDEBAR: How many animal units do you have?

Chapter 6: Benefits of Whole-Farm Planning

Assessment Tools
New York State Efforts

Appendix A: PRO-DAIRY Checklist for CAFO Permits

References

Other Resources from NRAES

Figures

Figure 1-1: Nurse tanker and satellite storage for remote application of liquid manure
Figure 2-1: Comparison of the cost of spreading on farms in western New York with varying months of manure storage available
Figure 2-2: Comparison of the spreading cost per cow on different sized dairies in western New York
Figure 2-3: The percentage of N, P, and K utilized on four different farms
Figure 3-1: Dairy manure can be composted using a bucket loader. For higher-value sales, a commercial compost turner/mixer should be used
Figure 4-1: Twenty-five-year, 24-hour rainfall amounts, in inches
Figure 4-2: Typical low-flow silage leachate collection system for bunk silos
Figure 4-3: Cross section of a waste storage pond with a watershed

Tables

Table 1-1: Estimated risk level of selected field characteristics to minimize impact on surface water quality
Table 2-1: Annual waste production on a typical 100-cow dairy
Table 3-1: Comparison of effects on air, water, crops, fields, and management of different manure handling options
Table 4-1: Barnyard sizes, in square feet per animal
Table 4-2: Paved barnyard sizes, in square feet per animal, by function
Table 4-3: Annual effluent production from bunk silos
Table 4-4: Characteristics of dairy manure, as excreted
Table 4-5: Daily manure from Holstein cows based on average pounds of milk produced
Table 4-6: Wastewater generation from washing operations
Table 4-7: Water conservation methods for milking centers
Table 4-8: Comparison of typical ranges of five-day biochemical oxygen demand
Table 4-9: Waste milk removal practices, potentials, and costs
Table 4-10: Manure reduction methods and costs for milking centers
Table 4-11: Phosphorus reduction methods and costs
Table 4-12: Comparison of treatment methods for milking center wastewater