Green Resources for Your Business

Green Plus recently launched a podcast series entitled, Are You There Yet? The podcasts will offer tips on an aspect of greening your business  (waste reduction or energy efficiency measures) and feature a participating Green Plus business that excels in that particular area.” New episodes available here: http://gogreenplus.org/tag/podcast/
Wenger Feeds has been Green Plus certified since 2010. The company was recently honored with a Sustainable Enterprise Award.

Regulatory Updates and Opportunities

Updates
The Pennsylvania Code Chapter 102, Erosion and Sediment Control, was recently changed, requiring that all conservation and/or erosion and sediment control plans must now address animal-heavy use areas (barnyards, exercise lots, feeding areas). Your nutrient management plan may already address these areas, but it must also be included in your conservation plans. All areas (cropland and pasture) within 100 feet of surface water must maintain a minimum of 25% plant/cover crop residue at all times. Both of these went into effect as of November 2010. Please contact your consultant or local NRCS office if your plans were developed prior to November 2010.

The State Conservation Commission recently revised the Act 38 Nutrient Management plan template to include addition information on manure spreader calibrations. Beginning immediately, all nutrient management plans submitted for review must list the following information relating to the manure spreader used and its calibration:
•    Manure spreader identification
•    Manure spreader capacity (gallons or tons per load)
•    Tractor identification (if applicable)
•    Equipment settings (speed, gear, rpm, pto, etc.)

Opportunities
There are several funding opportunities still available:
•    Buffer Bonus Program: Provides farmers with a $4,000 per acre voucher towards the installation of on-farm Best Management Practices in addition to the standard CREP payments for the installation of 35 foot vegetated stream buffer. This includes money to meet baseline compliance and provides additional voucher money for implementing any nutrient or sediment planning on the farm, which includes crop scouting.
•    PennVest: State-issued grant money that typically provides farmers with 100% funding for the installation of nutrient and sediment-related best management practices (i.e. manure storages, barnyards, etc.). The state issued grant money does not create a tax liability for the operator as all the money is dispensed directly to the contractors and/or consultants involved.
•    EQIP: Administered through NRCS to provide payments for the installation of on-farm best management practices.
•    Bay Farms: Provides farmers with the funding to cover the cost of soil nitrogen testing (PSNT) and stalk nitrogen testing (CSNT) for corn as advanced nutrient management.
•    CREP: Administered through NRCS and provides funding for the installation of stream bank buffers and crossings as necessary. Cropland rental payments typically range from $200-$350 annually.
•    REAP: State tax credit program that offers tax rebates of 50-75% towards the development of nutrient management or soil conservation plans, manure storages, no-till planters, drills, low disturbance manure incorporation tools, and other practices.
If you are interested, contact your local Conservation District, NRCS office, or nutrient planning consultant.

How energy efficient is your farm?

Rebecca Ranck, Compliance Coordinator, Environmental, Health, and Safety
How energy efficient is your farm? You may have read in previous articles that Wenger Feeds is actively pursuing energy efficiency at all milling facilities, the office, and the egg warehouse by conducting energy audits, but you may have wondered, “How can I do the same thing”? An energy audit is an analysis of where you are using energy on your farm, and the audit results reveal potential energy reduction strategies that are cost effective. The Penn State Cooperative Extension, in conjunction with the USDA’s Rural Development agency, is now offering a program to provide low cost energy audits to farms in Pennsylvania. The USDA will pay 75% of the cost of the audit, leaving only 25% of the cost to the farmer. The audits are completed by Agricultural engineering specialists or private consultants. Depending on where your farm is located, your electric supplier may even be able to help you reduce your costs even more. Energy audits will be conducted starting in May 2011, and the program runs through 2012. Funds for this program are on a first-come, first-serve basis. You can check your eligibility at http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/.

Conducting an energy audit will give each operator an easy-to-understand report that lists recommended ways to improve energy efficiency on the farm plus information on possible funding for installing energy efficient equipment.

If you are interested and have questions, contact one of the program contacts listed below to find out more. When you are ready to request an audit, the extension can provide you with a price quote that you will need to sign and return before work begins. The audit generally takes less than 4 weeks to complete, and the extension will consult with you on the results as well as provide guidance on how to take the next step to improve your farm’s energy performance.

Program Contacts:
Daniel Ciolkosz, Program Coordinator
Penn State University
Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
249 Ag Engineering Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-863-3484
dec109@psu.edu
Peggy Fogarty-Harnish
Agricultural Economic Development Educator
Penn State Cooperative Extension, Lancaster County
1383 Arcadia Road, Room 140, Lancaster, PA 17601-3149
717-394-6851
pfogharn@psu.edu
George Hurd
Penn State Cooperative Extension – Franklin County
181 Franklin Farms Lane
Chambersburg, PA 17202
717 263 9226
grh5@psu.edu
Dan F. McFarland
Sr. Extension Educator – Ag Engineering
Penn State Cooperative Extension
112 Pleasant Acres Road
York, PA 17402
(717)-840-7560 Voice
(717)-755-5968 FAX
dfm6@psu.edu
Susan Parry, Coordinator
Capital Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Area Council, Inc.
401 East Louther St., Suite 307
Carlisle, PA 17013
Office Phone: (717) 241-4361
Office Fax: (717) 240-0548
susan.parry@pa.usda.gov
Alan Zepp
Center for Dairy Excellence
2301 North Cameron St
Harrisburg, PA 17110
717-346-0849
717-705-2342 FAX
azepp@centerfordairyexcellence.org

Reducing Waste by Composting Egg Cartons

Did you know that you can compost paper egg cartons?

If you have a compost pile, you may be surprised to know that in addition to egg shells, you can compost paper egg cartons. Eggs packaged in styrofoam or clear plastic cannot be recycled, which is a source of frustration for Wenger Feeds Quality Assurance Supervisor Ray Leiby. Ray teaches composting through the Lancaster office of the Penn State Extension’s Master Gardener Program. Ray notes, “Everyone uses eggs and if we could get even a small percentage of those people to re-cycle the used egg cartons by adding them to their compost piles, that would help reduce the amount of waste going to the landfills.” If you have a compost pile, consider eggs packaged in paperboard cartons.