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On February 10, 2018

Spreading manure in the winter is discouraged because it is a high-risk time period for nutrient losses and contamination of surface water. Extension Agronomist Charlie White explains if wintertime manure spreading is absolutely unavoidable on your farm, following the regulations for winter spreading in Pennsylvania will help to reduce the risk of nutrient losses.

Winter is defined as any of the following three conditions: 1) Between December 15 and February 28; or 2) Any time the ground is snow covered; or 3) Any time the soil is frozen 4 inches or deeper.

Below are guidelines that must be followed when spreading manure during winter periods.  These guidelines apply to farms operating under a Manure Management Plan, which are typically smaller, less intensive operations.  Concentrated Animal Operations (CAOs) that are regulated under Act 38 or permitted Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) should consult their Nutrient Management Plan to determine allowable winter spreading practices.

You need to maintain a setback of 100’ from streams, lakes, ponds, sinkholes, drinking water wells, and aboveground inlets to agricultural drainage systems.  The reductions in manure spreading setbacks around streams, lakes, and ponds that are allowed in other seasons by implementing best management practices do not apply during the winter.

Do not spread on slopes greater than 15%.  These would be soils listed with “D” or “E” codes on a soil survey map. Additionally, you need to limit winter application rates to less than or equal to the following: 5,000 gallons/acre of liquid manure; 20 tons/acre of solid non-poultry manure; 3 tons/acre of solid poultry manure.  Alternatively, you can use a nutrient balance sheet to determine the phosphorus balanced rate of manure for the next crop and apply equal to or less than that rate.

Don’t spread on fields with less than 25% crop residue cover unless a cover crop has been planted there.  Corn silage and low yielding soybean fields typically have less than 25% residue cover during the winter. Do prioritize winter spreading on fields with living plant cover, such as cover crops, hay fields, or pastures.  The living plants in these fields will do a better job preventing nutrient losses during winter by taking up nitrogen into plant biomass and more effectively preventing erosion.

Remember to list the fields that will receive winter manure applications in the “Winter Application Worksheet” of your Manure Management Plan.  Also make a note of the fields that will receive winter spreading on your farm map and indicate the slopes in those fields.

Winter spreading of manure is a practice that is under intense scrutiny because of the elevated risks for nutrient losses and its effect on water quality.  Some states in the region have even outlawed winter manure spreading altogether.  Increasing manure storage capacity to alleviate the need for winter spreading is the most preferred management practice.  Use wintertime spreading as a last resort and be sure to follow the above guidelines to reduce the risk for nutrient losses when doing so.

For more information about writing a Manure Management Plan, see our online course https://extension.psu.edu/writing-a-manure-management-plan,  or visit the Nutrient Management Education Program page. (https://extension.psu.edu/programs/nutrient-management/)To Learn What’s Overwintering in Your Fields

Although some pests migrate to Pennsylvania in the spring, some overwinter right here in Pennsylvania. Extension Agronomist Anna Busch provides the following descriptions of some of the insect pests in field crops that overwinter in Pennsylvania and that are easier to monitor or manage in the spring.

The alfalfa weevil is an invasive insect, presumably from Asia, and is one of the most damaging insects in alfalfa fields. They usually overwinter as adults. In the spring, females chew holes into alfalfa stems to deposit eggs. Although alfalfa weevil is not economically damaging every year, scouting is the best method to monitor and manage populations.

The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) is an invasive insect from Asia that was introduced to Pennsylvania in the 1990’s. BMSB is a pest in many crops including fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, and field crops. BMSB can be a nuisance during the fall and early winter because they aggregate in buildings and homes to overwinter. Naturally, they overwinter in wood lots. BMSB tend to move into crop fields from wooded areas and hedgerows, but stay near the edges of fields. Scouting along wooded margins of fields is ideal to monitor populations.

The cereal leaf beetle is native to Europe and Asia and is occasionally a severe pest of wheat, oats, and other grasses in Pennsylvania. Adults leave crop fields in the fall to overwinter in leaf litter in wooded areas and hedgerows. In the spring, adults fly back to grain fields to deposit eggs. Larvae hatch from the eggs, but it is the older larvae that cause the most damage by defoliating plants. Cereal leaf beetles are easier to manage in the spring when eggs or larvae are present.

European Corn Borer (ECB) was introduced to Massachusetts from Hungary and Italy in 1917. There are two strains of ECB that occur in Pennsylvania. Both strains overwinter as larvae and pupate in the spring. Adults emerge and deposit eggs in May to June. The newly hatched larvae bore into the main corn stalk where they complete their development. One strain goes into diapause and overwinters at this point, having one generation per year. The other strain has two or more generations per year, completing development and laying eggs in August. Field corn losses are usually attributed to the strain that has multiple generations because the second-generation larvae feed on the tassel or enter the ear or shank, causing the stalks to break. Planting before May 20th can reduce damage caused by second generation ECB. Controlling weeds and using transgenic varieties can also help. Chemical control is not usually recommended.

To Clean Up Unwanted Pesticides On Your Farm

The CHEMSWEEP Program collects pesticides that are no longer usable or wanted by pesticide applicators and pesticide businesses. The deadline to register for this year is February 28. So it is important to put this on your priority list and get your inventory form sent to your regional Pennsylvania Department Of Agriculture Office soon.

The CHEMSWEEP Program is available to pesticide applicators and pesticide businesses across Pennsylvania on a four-year rotation. Active private applicators and pesticide businesses in Adams, Allegheny, Beaver, Cameron, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Franklin, Jefferson, Lancaster, Lehigh, Monroe, Pike, Potter, Northampton, and Washington, received an inventory package in November 2017.  Use the inventory form to list any waste pesticides you wish to dispose of and mail back to the regional PDA office listed at the top by February 28, 2018.

You will be contacted to have your inventory verified by a PDA inspector.  They will look for any special circumstances such as leaking containers, unknown products, or other issues that may be of concern to the disposal contractor.  Once the inventories are verified, PDA will work with the CHEMSWEEP contractor to schedule the pickups. This year pesticides will be collected from June through October. They will come right to your farm or business, package your old pesticides, and send them to an EPA-approved incinerator for destruction.

CHEMSWEEP is not intended as an inventory management tool. As applicators, you have the responsibility to manage your pesticide inventories and spray materials according to the label.

Remember to store pesticides properly to prevent freezing or other damage.  Do not buy more product than you will use.  Manage leftover tank mix and rinsate responsibly as described on the label. Rinsate and tank mix will not be accepted for CHEMSWEEP disposal.

If you live in a selected county and did not receive the inventory mailer, contact your regional PDA office.  There is no cost to participate unless your quantity exceeds 2,000 lbs.  For inventories, more than one ton, the participant will be charged for the overage at PDA’s contracted price.

If you have unwanted pesticides but do not live in a selected county, please call 717- 772-5210 for assistance.

Quote Of The Week: “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.” Booker T, Washington