Poultry Litter Storage and Utilization Program for Kansas Crop Producers.

Increasing environmental regulations on the land application of poultry litter in Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma has resulted in an influx of poultry litter into Southeast Kansas and concern about potential impacts on water quality. In the spring of 2012, the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Conservation (KDA-DC), Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and the Kansas Water Office explore possible regulatory options. In response to possible regulations, Kansas Farm Bureau (KFB) and other agricultural producer organization in Kansas, requested that a voluntary, non-regulatory approach that promoted best management practices (BMPs) and producer education be implemented. Financial resources were made available through KDA-DC, KDHE and the natural resources conservation service (NRCS) to encourage producer to implement best management practices for poultry litter storage and nutrient management planning. Concurrently, Kansas State Research and Extension (KSRE) worked to develop educational programing on poultry litter and a storage site evaluation tool.  The poultry litter educational programing addresses the basic composition, fertilizer value, and BMPs that minimize the risk of nutrient runoff and odor from the storage and land application.  The site evaluation tool provides producers with a metric to evaluate the suitability of potential infield storage sites and takes into consideration site conditions such as proximity and slope to water ways, soil type, size and type of buffer and distance to neighboring homes and wells. The initial education program was presented at a Kansas Farm Bureau sponsor meeting in November of 2012. The partnership between Kansas Farm Bureau, State agencies, NRCS and KSRE is continuing to work together to develop additional educational tools and publications. The expected outcomes are increased producer awareness about the utilization of poultry litter and BMPs that protect water quality.