Contacts:
Kelly Loftus, Agency of Agriculture, (802) 828-3829

Monday, December 8, 2008

Under Vermont’s Accepted Agricultural Practices (AAPs) regulations, agricultural operations are not allowed to spread manure from December 15th to April 1st. This means that you must have a storage structure that is capable of holding all manure produced on your operation over the period of the ban, which is 107 days, or be able to stack all manure produced in a way that will not lead to water quality impacts, or utilize a combination of storage structure and stacking that will allow you to make it through the ban.

When stacking manure, AAPs require that stacking sites be located more than 100 feet from private wells or property boundaries. In addition, manure cannot be stacked on unimproved sites within 100 feet of surface water, or on land that is subject to annual overflow from adjacent waters. In all these situations, however, you have the opportunity to demonstrate to the Secretary of Agriculture that no alternative sites exist to enable you to meet these restrictions.

If you do have a storage structure, please make every attempt to empty the structure as soon as possible so you will have sufficient storage to make it through the ban.

If you have any questions about the manure storage ban, or if you would like assistance in the selection of appropriate manure stacking sites, please call the Agency at (802) 828-3475.