Manure MANAGEMENT PLAN MYTHS Busted
Myth #1: "All Manure Management Plan Preparers do the same thing, at the same cost, with the same quality of work."
Nothing could be further from the truth. We invite you to visit with us about how the Smart Manure Plan differs from the others, keeping your operation compliant while saving you time and money.
Myth #2: “I am required to sample my pits.”
For the most accurate assessment of true nutrient value of manure as a crop fertilizer, we recommend manure sampling and analysis at least once per year, but it is not required by the DNR. Book values based on type of animal and facility, and animal units, can be used to determine application rates.
If you choose to, it’s perfectly acceptable for you to sample your own pits. We offer manure sampling, analysis at AgSource Laboratories in Ellsworth, IA, and calculation of gallons per acre application rate for various crop rotations.
Myth #3: “I have to drive to the county courthouse for their signature on my annual MMP update.”
If you choose to sign each MMP update and drive it to the county for their signature, you may. But our Smart MMP has eliminated this time and expense. You get to decide how you want it.
Myth #4: “In addition to paying my MMP Preparer, I also have to write the DNR fee check and deliver my MMP update to the DNR.”
If you choose to drive your MMP update to the DNR Field Office and write the fee check, you may. But our Smart MMP includes the fee check and submission to DNR. You get to decide how you want it.
Myth #5: “The new eMMP system developed by the DNR makes it possible for me to do my own MMP.”
If you weren’t doing your own MMP before the DNR’s eMMP system, we wouldn’t recommend starting now.
The eMMP system changed nothing but the ability to submit an annual update electronically (something our SmartMMP accomplished years before the DNR created the eMMP). All forms, RUSLE2 Soil Loss Equations, P-index Calculations, field maps, and everything else that have always been part of an MMP are still required.
Myth #6: “I can just make copies of my Short Form for my Annual MMP Update except when the 4-Year Update is due.”
Every time a field boundary changes, a field is added or removed from the plan, the NRCS updates the RUSLE2, a field is soil sampled, or there are any number of other modifications, the plan has changed so must be updated. At the very least new P-index Calculations will be required. So conceivably (most likely) there are changes every year to your MMP, not just for the 4-year updates.
Myth #7: “A DNR inspection is something I should dread and will take me several days to prepare for.”
Our Smart MMP allows the DNR to receive every piece of the MMP they need for review well ahead of the inspection. With this approach, actual inspection day is simply a walk around the site, which involves relatively little time.
If you want to do the prep for the inspection, meet the DNR at your site with a hard copy of the MMP for them to review, then do the site inspection along with them, that’s perfectly acceptable. But our Smart MMP doesn’t require you to lift a finger when it comes to a site inspection, unless you want to.
Myth #8: “If I don't haul my own manure I don't have to worry about the application rate or records.”
If you own the site, you own the manure. If you hire out the manure hauling, you and the manure applicator are both responsible for applying legal, agronomic rates (based on either book value or manure analysis), as well as having access to application records.
Our Smart Manure Management Plan handles manure sampling and testing, rate calculation, maps and rates provided to the applicator, and storage of records. All of this ensures your regulatory compliance.
Myth #9: “I am required to have a binder on my shelf in my office that contains a hard copy of my MMP.”
The DNR requires a copy of the MMP to be kept within 30 miles of the site. The format of the plan is not specified.
If you’d like a hard copy binder of your MMP, that’s perfectly acceptable. But our SmartMMP can completely eliminate paper, and the copy of your MMP can be stored on a disk in your office desk drawer.
Myth #10: “I can hire whoever I want to haul manure from my site.”
Even though it’s your site, it is regulated. This means anyone who hauls manure from a site requiring a manure plan must be a certified commercial applicator, with annual training and a current CMS card and number.
Nothing could be further from the truth. We invite you to visit with us about how the Smart Manure Plan differs from the others, keeping your operation compliant while saving you time and money.
Myth #2: “I am required to sample my pits.”
For the most accurate assessment of true nutrient value of manure as a crop fertilizer, we recommend manure sampling and analysis at least once per year, but it is not required by the DNR. Book values based on type of animal and facility, and animal units, can be used to determine application rates.
If you choose to, it’s perfectly acceptable for you to sample your own pits. We offer manure sampling, analysis at AgSource Laboratories in Ellsworth, IA, and calculation of gallons per acre application rate for various crop rotations.
Myth #3: “I have to drive to the county courthouse for their signature on my annual MMP update.”
If you choose to sign each MMP update and drive it to the county for their signature, you may. But our Smart MMP has eliminated this time and expense. You get to decide how you want it.
Myth #4: “In addition to paying my MMP Preparer, I also have to write the DNR fee check and deliver my MMP update to the DNR.”
If you choose to drive your MMP update to the DNR Field Office and write the fee check, you may. But our Smart MMP includes the fee check and submission to DNR. You get to decide how you want it.
Myth #5: “The new eMMP system developed by the DNR makes it possible for me to do my own MMP.”
If you weren’t doing your own MMP before the DNR’s eMMP system, we wouldn’t recommend starting now.
The eMMP system changed nothing but the ability to submit an annual update electronically (something our SmartMMP accomplished years before the DNR created the eMMP). All forms, RUSLE2 Soil Loss Equations, P-index Calculations, field maps, and everything else that have always been part of an MMP are still required.
Myth #6: “I can just make copies of my Short Form for my Annual MMP Update except when the 4-Year Update is due.”
Every time a field boundary changes, a field is added or removed from the plan, the NRCS updates the RUSLE2, a field is soil sampled, or there are any number of other modifications, the plan has changed so must be updated. At the very least new P-index Calculations will be required. So conceivably (most likely) there are changes every year to your MMP, not just for the 4-year updates.
Myth #7: “A DNR inspection is something I should dread and will take me several days to prepare for.”
Our Smart MMP allows the DNR to receive every piece of the MMP they need for review well ahead of the inspection. With this approach, actual inspection day is simply a walk around the site, which involves relatively little time.
If you want to do the prep for the inspection, meet the DNR at your site with a hard copy of the MMP for them to review, then do the site inspection along with them, that’s perfectly acceptable. But our Smart MMP doesn’t require you to lift a finger when it comes to a site inspection, unless you want to.
Myth #8: “If I don't haul my own manure I don't have to worry about the application rate or records.”
If you own the site, you own the manure. If you hire out the manure hauling, you and the manure applicator are both responsible for applying legal, agronomic rates (based on either book value or manure analysis), as well as having access to application records.
Our Smart Manure Management Plan handles manure sampling and testing, rate calculation, maps and rates provided to the applicator, and storage of records. All of this ensures your regulatory compliance.
Myth #9: “I am required to have a binder on my shelf in my office that contains a hard copy of my MMP.”
The DNR requires a copy of the MMP to be kept within 30 miles of the site. The format of the plan is not specified.
If you’d like a hard copy binder of your MMP, that’s perfectly acceptable. But our SmartMMP can completely eliminate paper, and the copy of your MMP can be stored on a disk in your office desk drawer.
Myth #10: “I can hire whoever I want to haul manure from my site.”
Even though it’s your site, it is regulated. This means anyone who hauls manure from a site requiring a manure plan must be a certified commercial applicator, with annual training and a current CMS card and number.
