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On March 11, the Iowa Environmental
Protection Commission approved, on a 5-2 vote with five votes
needed for approval, a proposal to establish the rate of liquid
manure (and settled open feedlot effluent) application on land
to be planted to soybeans in a manure or nutrient management
plan at 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre.
The allowable rate under current
Iowa Department of Natural Resources rules is 3.8 pounds of nitrogen
per bushel of soybean yield. However, the EPC had discussed banning
the practice entirely over the last several years.
The key points and effects of
the adopted rule are:
- For manure applications on and
after May 14, 2008, liquid manure applied to land that will be
planted to soybeans or to land that is currently planted to soybeans
cannot exceed 100 pounds of available nitrogen per acre.
- The 100 pounds per acre application
limitation does not apply on or after June 1 of each year, but
the current 3.8 pounds of N per bushel of soybean yield rate
would apply.
- Liquid manure applications before
May 14, 2008, are not subject to the new rule. Instead, they
must meet the current allowable rate of 3.8 pounds of N per bushel
of soybean yield.
The EPC approved the rule as
released for public comment with one amendment. This amendment
changes the proposal to ban liquid manure application on soybeans
in five years as follows:
"The prohibition on applying
liquid manure shall not become effective unless the commission
publishes a notice in the Iowa Administrative Bulletin confirming
that it has reviewed the available scientific evidence and that
the prohibition shall take effect on May 14, 2013."
The effect of this amendment
is that for the ban to go into effect May 14, 2013, the EPC must
publish public notice that it reviewed available research information
and voted to put the ban in place. If the EPC fails to take this
action, the ban would not go into effect.
As with all administrative rules,
the Iowa Legislative Administrative Rules Review Committee will
study the rule before it goes into effect May 14, 2008.
Click here to download the Iowa EPC liquid
manure on soybeans final rule
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