INDIANA-ILLINOIS FOOD SAFETY INITIATIVE
Animals, Animal Byproducts,
Biosolids and Site Selection
Ellen Phillips, Extension Educator
University of Illinois Extension
708-352-0109 ephillps@illinois.edu
Purdue University is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Institution
Funded in part by a USDA Specialty Crops Block Grant
from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture
Unless noted, photos courtesy of USDA ARS Image Gallery
Pathogens
• Spread onto surface of plants from the
amendment or amended soil (possibly
to inside of fruit or leaf)
What’s the risk?
• How much contact is there between the
edible part and potential contaminant?
• Is the crop generally cooked before
consumption?
Topics
• Goals
• GAPs
– Animals
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Using Manure and compost
Other animal byproducts
Biosolids
Site selection
• Summary
Livestock
• Prevent livestock, manure and
contaminated runoff from coming in contact
with produce or irrigation water.
• A number of variables affect needed
distance between animals and crop or
water source.
Pasture
What’s in your watershed?
Where’s the livestock?
Runoff into irrigation pond?
Where’s the well?
Irrigation Pond
http://www.mo.nrcs.usda.gov/news/MOphotogallery/Ponds%20Dams%20Lakes/PL566-6.jpg
Wild Animals
• Watch out for evidence of large populations
of wild animals
– Keep them out of fields
• Control:
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Fencing
Scare tactics
Depredation
Modification of the
surrounding environment
Photo: Adele Hodde, Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Draft Animals
• Designate and use roadways in fields
when possible
• Pay attention to sanitation
• Immediately remove any contamination
and develop harvest protocol
http://www.kingcounty.gov/recreation/parks/inventory/marymoor/offleash.aspx
Using Manure
• Valuable source of nutrient
• Potential source of pathogens
• Take measures to reduce risk when using
All Manure Can Carry Pathogens
• Livestock
• cattle, swine, poultry, horse, & sheep
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Dog and Cat
Bird
Rodent
Deer
Fly or other insect
Human
Cornell GAPS
Manure Segregation
• Manure of young or transitioning livestock
(feed or housing)
– 5% of post wean heifers shed E. coli 0157:H7
– 2% calves
– 1% adults cows
– Horses – typically much lower in E.coli
Indiana Manure Storage
• Storage in an approved manure storage
structures
• If application more than 72 hours – 90 days
• must be covered or otherwise protected to prevent
run-off or infiltration to ground water
– Not within 300 feet
• water wells
• surface waters
• drainage inlets
• Away from fields
Cornell GAPS
Using Raw Manure
• Pathogen survival dependent on
– Type of pathogen
– Rainfall
– Soil moisture
– Temperature
– Soil type
– Whether or not it is incorporated
•
Franz et al., 2005; Guan and Holley, 2003; Ingham et al, 2005; Natvig et al., 2002; Oliver et al., 2006; Saini
et al., 2003; Scott et al., 2006
E. coli 0157:H7
Has a Seasonal Pattern
• Most prolific under warm humid conditions.
• Frequently traced back to moist animal feed and
water troughs.
Cornell GAPS
E.coli and Other Bacteria are
Vulnerable to Competition
• In soils, E. coli O157:H7 levels decrease
over time due to natural conditions.
• Incorporate
– reduces physical transmission risk (splash)
– increases competition and predation from soil microbes
• High temperature
– aerobic composting of manure reduces levels quickly.
Cornell GAPS
Indiana Manure Mgt. Plan
http://www.agry.purdue.edu/mmp/
• Fertilizer Plan required by ALL growers.
• Required for both Manure (organic) and
Inorganic Fertilizer applications
• The Fertilizer Plan, at a minimum, is a written
plan that ties the application of fertilizer to
agronomic rates.
• Must include how fertilizer rates are
determined.
• The purpose is that you have thought about
rates to meet the crop’s needs.
Fertilizer Certification Rule:
1) Persons who apply or transport
commercial fertilizer material for hire.
2) Persons who apply or transport
manure, from the following:
 Indiana regulated confined feeding
operations.
 Operations outside Indiana that would be
confined feeding operations if they were
located in Indiana.
Who is exempt from standards?
Any person distributing or using less
than 10 cubic yards or 4000 gallons of
any type of fertilizer material* in a
calendar year.
Manure Application
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Do not assume any manure is ‘clean’.
Incorporate, Incorporate, Incorporate
Absolutely NO SIDEDRESSING with fresh manure.
Know manure source and how it was handled
Cornell GAPS
Applying Raw Manure
• Avoid contaminating irrigation water,
crops, finished compost or other
materials with raw manure.
• What crop is in the next field?
– Don’t apply manure or manure-containing litter
while edible part of crop is present.
http://nj.gov/agriculture/annual00/plant.htm
http://www.al.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/photo/anim/mngt/spreader.jpg
Target manure applications
WISELY
In the spring:
• Incorporate two weeks prior to planting.
• Target agronomic crops (grain) or new perennial plantings
(apple or strawberry).
• Don’t use on crops targeted for direct human consumption
• Delayed harvest reduces risk (perennials)
Cornell GAPS
Applying Raw Manure
In the fall:
• Apply to cover crop
• Apply and incorporate manure
at least 120 days before harvest.
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2008/080903.htm
• (Cornell GAPs)
Other Crop Management Practices
to decrease contact with manure
• Use trellis/staking where appropriate, such
as tomatoes.
• Use plastic mulch and drip irrigation to
reduce leaf wetting.
• Use organic mulches to reduce splash.
Cornell GAPS
Topics
• Goals
• GAPs
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Animals
Using Manure
Compost
Other animal byproducts
Biosolids
Site selection
• Summary
Manure Treatment Methods
• Aging (passive)
• Composting (active)
• Other active treatments
– Pasteurization
– Heat drying
– Aerobic and anaerobic digestion
– Alkali stabilization
http://msw.cecs.ucf.edu/Lesson7-composting.html
Composted Manure
• Composting guidelines often based
on federal biosolids law (40CFR503):
– Within vessel or static aerated pile
• At or above 131°F for at least 3 days
– Windrow
• At or above 131°F for at least 15 days
• Turned at least five times
Where’s this
bucket been?
Composted Manure
• Once compost is finished
– protect it from contamination.
Composted Manure
• If compost isn’t produced in a
satisfactory way
– precautions similar to those for raw manure
should be used.
• Know the source and treatment
– Concern about compost
is related to animal
materials.
U.S. Composting Council
Seal of Testing Assurance
http://compostingcouncil.org/
Finished Compost Field Application
based on Nutrient Application
• Application of finished compost to your fields
– No setbacks.
– No permit for application.
Manure Slurry
• Faster decline in E. coli and Salmonella
numbers in slurry than solid manure at temps
between approximately 70° and 100°F.
(Guan and Holley, 2003; Oliver et al., 2006)
• Cornell: Store 60 days before application in
summer (90 in winter).
Manure and Compost Teas
• No manure teas
• Compost tea safety dependent on compost
used and protection from contamination
• Heat treatment possible
Keep Records of Manure and
Compost Use
• Know your source of manure or compost.
• Know the methods used to produce compost or the
manure storage time.
• Keep records of application rates, timing, and fields
receiving manure or compost.
Cornell GAPS
Fertilizer Materials
Application Records
• Category 14 private applicators only keep records of
manure (organic) applications
• Category 14 commercial applicators keep records of
Inorganic fertilizer and Manure (organic) applications
• Records kept for 2 years
• Commercial company can maintain records for their
customers
Required Records
Location:
Applicator+
Cert. no.
Date
(m-d-yr)
Fertilizer
Type
Nutrient
value
Rate/acre
Application
Method
Site Selection
• Has the site been exposed to activities
or conditions in the past that might have
resulted in contamination?
• Is adjacent land being used for
purposes that might result in
contamination of crop land?
Site Selection
• Land use history
– Livestock or manure
– Flooding
– Hazardous chemicals
• Current proximity to livestock operations,
cull piles, refuse dumps and debris
Site Selection
• Soil can be tested for fecal bacteria,
heavy metals or chemical
contamination.
• Fecal coliforms or E. coli are often used
as indicators of contamination by
manure or sewage.
Summary
• Keep animals and run-off from their waste away
from crops and irrigation water.
• Applying manure earlier and composting are
ways to reduce risk.
• Take much caution if considering using fresh
manure or compost tea.
• Consider the method used to process bone and
bloodmeal.
Summary
• Biosolid production and use are regulated by
federal and state law.
– Pharmaceutical and heavy metal contamination are
potential concerns.
• Consider what has historically happened on a
field and what is currently going on around the
site.
Indiana Resources
• Agriculture Fertilizer Applicator Certification Rule
www.isco.purdue.edu/pesticide/fert_app_cert_rule.html
• Purdue Extension Publications about Manure
mdc.itap.purdue.edu/subcategory.asp?subCatID=281&CatID=11
• IAC Article 6.1. Land Application of Biosolid, Industrial
Waste Product, and Pollutant-Bearing Water
www.in.gov/legislative/iac/T03270/A00061.PDF
• IC 13-20-10 Chapter 10. Registration of Facilities for
Composting Certain Vegetative Matter
www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title13/ar20/ch10.html
• Fertilizer Applicator Certification Rule
www.isco.purdue.edu/pesticide/fert_app_cert_rule.html
Questions in Indiana?
• IN Department of Environmental
Management (IDEM)
317-232-8603
– Permit Guide
www.in.gov/idem/5901.htm
– Agricultural & Solid Waste Compliance
http://www.in.gov/idem/4992.htm
– Confined Feeding Operations (CFOs/CAFOs)
http://www.in.gov/idem/4994.htm
For more info…….
• Field Guide to On-Farm Composting
(NRAES-114) - $25
www.nraes.org/publications/composting.html
• On-Farm Composting Handbook
– (NRAES-54) – $ 14
www.nraes.org/publications/composting.html
Acknowledgments
• Modified by
– Ellen Phillips, University of Illinois Extension
• North Carolina GAPS
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Karl Shaffer – Dept. of Soil Science, NCSU
Alexandria Graves – Dept. of Soil Science, NCSU
Fletcher Arritt – Dept. of Food, Bioprocessing and
Nutrition Sciences, NCSU
Rhonda Sherman – Dept. of Biological and
Agricultural Engineering, NCSU
Deanna Osmond – Dept. of Soil Science, NCSU
Chris Gunter – Dept. of Horticultural Science, NCSU
Billy Little – N.C. Cooperative Extension, Wilson
County Center
• Cornell GAPS