Directive 04-3: Building New Partnerships and New Markets for Agricultural Animal Manure and Poultry

Authors

• Chesapeake Bay Program

Description

Agriculture is a significant source of nutrients entering the Chesapeake Bay, with animal manure and poultry litter contributing about half of the agricultural nutrient load. As animal operations become more concentrated and the acreage of cropland available for manure application is lost to development, the challenge of manure management will only intensify. In 2004, the Chesapeake Bay Program held an Agricultural Summit to develop sustainable solutions for reducing nutrient pollution from animal manure and poultry litter in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Based on the recommendations developed at the Summit by a wide range of stakeholders, Directive 04-3 commits the Chesapeake Bay Program to the following objectives: (1) Reduce the nutrient content in animal manure and poultry litter by adjusting animal diets. (2) Use manure and poultry litter as a fertilizer and soil amendment. (3) Demonstrate the feasibility of using manure as an energy source in the watershed. (4) Coordinate manure transport and relocation programs across the watershed. (5) Apply latest scientific understanding toward manure management. (6) Develop specific actions to achieve these objectives.