Animal Manure Management - Regulations
The need for advanced science and technology in animal waste management continues as social and regulatory pressures for safe food and clean environment increase.  The regulatory climate around animal production has changed drastically in the past five years. A great deal of activity has occurred at the state and local levels on regulations and/or restrictions to control livestock and poultry production facilities, as well as the management of waste materials from those facilities. Following the announcement of the Clean Water Action Plan (CWAP) by President Clinton and Vice President Gore in February of 1998, EPA and USDA jointly developed and published Unified National Animal Feeding Operation (AFO) Strategy in March of 1999. The Strategy calls for AFO owners and operators to take actions to minimize water pollution from confinement animal facilities and the land application of manure. To accomplish this goal, the Strategy established a national performance expectation that all AFOs should develop and implement technically sound, economically feasible, and site-specific comprehensive nutrient management plans (CNMPs) to minimize impacts on water quality and public health. Coordinated research, technical innovation, and technology transfer and increased data coordination are among the seven strategic issues that should be addressed to resolve concerns associated with AFOs. Extending and expanding the concerted and collaborative research effort of the investigators involved in the regional research project will ensure that the strategic issues are being addressed in a timely and effective manner.  Special efforts are planned to include economists, microbiologists and others to integrate the component solutions into strategies that are sustainable for US farms.

Utilizing Best Management Practices
Nearly all the manure from AFO's in the US is currently land applied (Cast 1996); in order to sustain production while protecting the environment, increased resources are needed to develop and transfer technologies to producers.  Specific needs are in the areas of site specific land application; effective manure handling and treatment systems for modifying and improving the properties of animal manure for optimal nutrient utilization; animal diet modifications for reducing excretion of nitrogen, phosphorous, and other environmentally sensitive chemical elements; crop system selection to best use the manure nutrients; and reducing nitrogen loss via ammonia volatilization. A holistic watershed approach needs to be taken to manage the nutrients from various sources including animal manure to prevent adverse impacts on surface and ground water quality (USDA 2001). The development of equipment to quickly determine nitrogen and phosphorus contents of soils and manures, and then accurately change application rates, is essential to make it possible to supply manure to meet the crop needs (Gilley and Risse 2000).

Non-nutrient Pollutants
Advanced and cost effective technologies are needed to explore the uses of manure as raw materials for value-added products, such as feed, fuel, and chemicals (Parker 2000). The fate and transport of pathogens, hormones and other constituents from manures to the various parts of food chain will require intensive research.  Innovative approaches are needed to avoid the contamination of foods with effluents from animal production facilities (Cast 1996).

Air Quality
The airborne pollutants from livestock and poultry facilities offend many rural residents, making it difficult for farmers and homeowners to coexist.  Additionally, the air quality within facilities can have adverse health effects on workers (Thu 1995).  Methods are needed to objectively measure the gaseous and particulate pollutants, and then to reduce emissions from facilities. Improved animal facility design, manure treatment technologies and management practices are needed to minimize the generation and emission of odors, gases and particulates from AFOs (Miner 1995).

Participation
The institutions and individuals participating in the proposed MRF have demonstrated the capabilities to address all the needs listed.  Major benefits of the multistate cooperation will be in obtaining and comparing results from a broad geographic area, representing different climates, cropping systems and types of production management.