This week’s snow was a reminder that we’re still in the middle of winter in Ohio, with more cold weather yet to come. Winter weather is a challenge for those who handle manure, and it’s equally challenging to know the laws for applying manure on frozen and snow covered ground. Those laws vary according to several important factors: whether ground is frozen or snow covered, whether a farm is operating under a permit, and the geographical location of the land application. Here’s a summary of the different winter application rules and standards in effect this winter.
What is frozen ground? Ohio’s rules don’t define the term frozen ground, but generally, ground is considered frozen if you cannot inject manure into it or cannot conduct tillage within 24 hours to incorporate the manure into the soil.
Farms with Permits. Farms with permits from the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) or Ohio EPA operate under different rules than other manure applications in Ohio, and they cannot apply manure in the winter unless it is an extreme emergency. Movement to other suitable storage is usually the selected alternative. Several commercial manure applicators have established manure storage ponds in recent years to help address this issue.
Applications in the Grand Lake St. Marys (GLSM) watershed. There is a winter manure application ban from December 15 to March 1 for the GLSM watershed, 8ODA has the authority to allow an application, but that is not likely during the winter period. After March 1, applications on frozen ground or ground covered in more than one inch of snow may occur only if the manure is injected or incorporated within 24 hours of surface application. The rule is in OAC 901:13-1-11.
Applications in the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB) watershed. In those parts of western Ohio that are in the WLEB watershed, below, the House Bill 1 restrictions established in 2016 are still in effect. The law prohibits any manure application on frozen ground. Applications are permissible on snow-covered soil if the manure is injected into the ground or incorporated within twenty-four hours of surface application. The law is in ORC 939.08.
Other parts of Ohio. It’s important to note that the NRCS Nutrient Management Conservation Practice Standard Code 590 (NRCS 590) now applies statewide in Ohio (but does not replace the GLSM and WLEB restrictions). NRCS 590 was revised in 2020 and states that the surface application of manure on frozen and snow-covered soil is not acceptable unless it is an emergency. An emergency is a temporary situation created by unforeseen causes and only after all other options have been exhausted. In this emergency situation only, limited quantities of liquid manure may be applied to address manure storage limitations only until non-frozen soils are available for manure application. The Ohio Department of Agriculture will enforce NRCS 590 in counties outside of GLSM and WLEB only if there is a manure discharge from the field. If a citation is issued for a discharge, liability for the discharge will be based on the 590 standards.
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Categories: Ohio, Weather