Manure Du Jour at Lunch

Now manure is a lunch topic. Pennsylvania State University’s College of Agriculture and Cooperative Extension have teamed up for Manure Du Jour, a Wednesday noon-hour webinar discussing animal agriculture and its impact on the environment. The 14-week series covers topics from the basics of issues at hand to in-depth looks at water quality impacts from all areas of your farm. The series kicked off last week with “Overview of Animal Ag Issues – Air & Water Quality.” This week, we listened to “Water Quality-Nutrition.” Sarah Dinh, PSU dairy and environment specialist shared why how we feed our cows can impact our land and water. Sarah pointed out Pennsylvania’s new feed management program which closely monitors nutrient inputs and outputs on farms in order to minimize feed costs and reduce nutrient importation. Jana Malot, a Conservationalist from NRCS also shared her experience and insight on grazing’s impact on water quality. The weekly webinars are posted online after each week; so don’t worry if you can’t make it over the noon-hour. Next week, the menu features water quality considerations from barnyard and exercise lots. Bon appetite!