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The main priority adopted for the cattle sector concerns manure management in relation to watercourse protection. Producers prefer an approach that reflects overall manure management efficiency (storage, transportation and spreading) and have opted for solid manure management and storage in fields. Producers have been proactive through their Federation and in partnership with the MAPAQ and the Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs (MDDEP). Over the last fiftheen years, they have carried out several research projects on field-stored manure and managed wintering pens. The projects have confirmed the agroenviromental effectiveness of these practices. Guides have also been distributed to producers and stakeholders to facilitate the adoption and management of these practices. The Guide de conception des amas de fumier au champ, updated in 2008, contains guidelines for the design and management of temporary solid manure field-storage sites, a system widely used by feedlots and cow-calf producers. The 1999 Guide to Environmentally Sound Beef Cattle Manure Management Practices, produced jointly by the Fédération des producteurs de bovins du Québec (FPBQ), the MAPAQ and the MDDEP, describes the wintering pen technic and defines the management of manure provided by the animals held in the pen. The development of the cow-calf sector in the past few decades is essentially the result of the use of managed outdoor wintering pens. This technique, which considerably increases the productivity and health of the animals while reducing the farmer’s workload, include feeding and resting areas, waterers, calf hutches, and a vegetation strip to capture contaminated water coming from the pens to prevent it from reaching surface water. On the social level, practices that produce solid manure foster harmonious coexistence with neighbours because they reduce odours. Storage of manure in fields and wintering pens far from dwellings offer the same advantages. On the economic level, these practices significantly minimize unproductive investments on the part of the government and producers. Indeed, stockpiling manure in fields avoids having to use costly storage structures, around $300,000 for a feedlot of 800 fed cattle. Moreover, because manure is transported to the field as it is produced, this results in a better distribution of the workload on the farm. The wintering pens require less investment in buildings and improve livestock health and productivity, as well as efficiency. On the agronomic and environmental levels, solid manure management and field storage, as the manure is produced, offer clear advantages. In particular, significant environmental gains can be achieved by mitigating runoff risks during spreading and by reducing the risks of soil compaction since the manure is mainly transported in winter and deposited on the plots that really need it. |
Regulation Manure piles in field are allowed The new Agricultural Operations Regulation (AOR) became effective on August 5, 2010. It is now permitted to all farms, regardless of the type of production, the amount of animals and the location of the farm, to store manure piles in a cultivated field. A supervised practice Producers who use the technique of storing manure piles in field must comply with the conditions described in the AOR (www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca) and call upon an agronomist to advise them in the design and management of piles. The work completed brings results The research projects conducted over the last fifteen years have allowed us to characterize, thoroughly, the environmental impact of piles. It is one of the pillars on which the ministry relied on to propose the modifications to the AOR. Remember that cattle producers have been at the heart of knowledge development on piles in the field. These include, among others, the research carried out among both the producers and the Research and Development Institute in Agri-Environment (IRDA) and the project for monitoring of producers using this technique. Let's not forget the various representations to the relevant ministries and participation in expert committees. Concrete actions The Fédération realizes an "Evaluation and improvement of agri-environmental management for wintering pens and vegetative filter strips" project. Over a period of two years, it aims to improve the environmental performance of wintering pens and vegetative filter strips to determine the best management practices to be used at strategic moments. 18 producers, in several agricultural regions and accompanied by their professionals, will participate in this project. Seven annual visits will permit to gather more than 250 forms containing information on the management of pens and vegetative filter strips. This new data will be added to the results of the research projects done at the IRDA and in the Outaouais.
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