The fines from dairies issues due to improper record keeping or manure management in Washington state are going to work in eight grants issued recently by the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

WSDA’s Dairy Nutrient Management Program works with the state’s dairies to make sure they handle manure in ways that minimize the risk of impacting groundwater or surface water quality. The DNMP works to educate and support dairy farms with information about handling manure and wastewater. In cases of noncompliance or repeat offenses, monetary penalties are sometimes issued per the Dairy Nutrient Management Act. Those penalties then fund the Livestock Nutrient Management Account.

Account funds support grants to conservation districts, universities or other interested parties proposing projects to help dairies comply with state and federal water quality laws. This year, the program awarded more than $35,000 for research related to water quality or education for dairies. Here’s a rundown on the projects that received grants:

Snohomish Conservation District, targeted record-keeping education and outreach to Snohomish County dairy producers. The grant will cover one-on-one outreach to dairies, providing technical assistance to improve record keeping and encourage best management practices adoption.

Whatcom Conservation District, implementation of an educational signage program for the promotion of cover crops on dairy farms: Ten two-sided signs will be placed in fields with cover crops to educate farmers and community members about how cover crops improve water quality.

Whatcom Conservation District, manure matters outreach via web, social media, radio and newspaper. Multimedia education will inform the public about why manure is used, what laws and rules apply to manure use, and the steps dairies take to protect water quality.

Skagit Conservation District, fecal coliform regrowth research. Skagit Valley College and Skagit Conservation District will try to identify conditions where fecal coliform regrowth is the leading source for bacteria found in water samples.

South Yakima Conservation District, education outreach workshop training for dairy producers. The early November workshop for dairies in Yakima covered required record keeping, soil test analysis interpretation, cover crops, irrigation, composting and soil health.

Underwood Conservation District, Underwood Conservation District Trout Lake microbial source tracking. The grant will cover microbial source tracking analysis of water samples to help identify sources of bacteria in the Trout Lake Basin.

Organix Inc., educational field day to convert a dairy lagoon to a BioFiltro Bida system, in which worms convert wastewater to revitalized water, soil and air. The field day will show how converting a dairy lagoon to the BioFiltro Bida system (a giant worm bin) will remove nutrients from dairy manure liquid.

Washington State University, nutrient application record-keeping calendar. The grant will cover an educational calendar that focuses on the record keeping required to demonstrate the agronomic application of manure nutrients.

Source: Washington State Department of Agriculture