Sessions to educate Illinois producers on new waste rules

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  Farm and environmental groups in Illinois are debating whether regulations intended to better track large commercial livestock o

  From WATTAgNet:
  Farm and environmental groups in Illinois are debating whether regulations intended to better track large commercial livestock operations as a way to prevent water pollution from waste runoff are too much or too little.
  The Illinois Pork Producers Association and the Illinois Farm Bureau have scheduled information sessions throughout the state to explain the new rules to producers. Topics to be discussed include the legal definition of a concentrated animal feed operation (CAFO), annual record-keeping, development of a formal waste management plan, and whether operations are required to obtain a waste discharge permit.
  The rules, which took effect in August, cover hog, cattle, poultry, sheep and other livestock operations.
  “Most larger operations have already adopted a number of these practices,” said Jim Kaitschuk, executive director of the Illinois Pork Producers Association. “We’re encouraging all farmers who have livestock to go out and do an evaluation of their waste management plan.”
  For many years, environmental groups have argued that livestock waste runoff is among the major sources of water pollution in Illinois. The groups say outdated state rules allow pollution to mostly go undetected and unpunished by failing to provide an accurate count of major livestock operations in the state, but that the new rules are an improvement.