June 3, 2011

 

Canada's Manitoba restricts expansion of hog barns

 

 

In order to lessen phosphorus levels in Lake Winnipeg, the expansion of Manitoba's hog barns will be limited by a new requirement for advanced environmental practices before new barns can be constructed.

 

Reversing nutrient loading in the lake now also finds the province considering buyouts of farmers in flood-prone areas as part of a surface water management strategy.

 

The provincial government on Thursday (Jun 2) declared keeping hog manure out of the lake as one of three key areas in a new strategy aimed at reducing phosphorus levels by 50%, thus cutting algae overgrowth and returning the lake to a pre-1990 state.

That piece of the province's new Lake Winnipeg strategy will also include a new tax credit to help farmers invest in new environmental technologies to treat manure responsibly.

 

The province said on Thursday (Jun 2) it will also now double funding for on-farm best environmental management practices that protect water.

 

The plan also pledges, again, to legislate a permanent ban winter spreading of manure on cropland. The province in 2009 called for such a ban, to take full effect in 2013.

 

"Allowing the hog industry to expand without limit would put our rivers and lakes at risk," University of Alberta ecology professor David Schindler said on Thursday (Jun 2).

 

"If hog operations cannot control their manure effectively, they should not be allowed to expand. Similarly, care must be taken to ensure that run-off of synthetic fertilisers does not reach the lake."

The province also said on Thursday (Jun 2) that it plans to meet with farmer groups and stakeholders to find ways to cut phosphorus such as lowering application rates of manure on land; restricting fall application of manure to avoid runoff; requiring manure to be injected or incorporated into soil to prevent runoff; and reviewing impacts of measures focused on eliminating runoff from commercial fertiliser applications.

 

Additionally, the province plans to meet with watershed stakeholders to come up with a surface water management strategy which it said could include incentives for landowners to retain wetlands and store water.

 

Possibilities under such a plan may also include buyouts for producers in marginal flood-prone areas, the province said, as well as drainage and infrastructure planning, wetland restoration and shoreline and riparian area protection.

 

The Manitoba Pork Council had no official comment on Thursday (Jun 2) afternoon regarding the province's announcement.

 

The province's stated plans follow a previous round of limits on hog production in 2008, stemming from a provincial Clean Environment Commission report on environmental sustainability in the hog sector.

 

Since then, the province put a permanent ban on expansion of hog farming in areas near Lake Winnipeg and the Red River, introduced new buffer zones to protect water from phosphorus application, and offered farmers incentives to protect wetlands and riparian areas.