2. Development of BMP Cost-Effectiveness
2.3.1
Land Application
In the Tar-Pamlico
53 percent of all cost-share funds expended on animal
waste management has been for land application and supporting structures_
application has accounted for approximately 18 percent of all
share funds expended in the basin, making it the highest funded practice (Table
Z-l).
When designing an
waste lagoon, the Soil Conservation Service requires
that farm operators have sufficient land suitable for application of the effluent at
agronomic rates. By applying lagoon effluent to the land, the farmer utilizes the
fertilizer value of the waste while also reducing its pollution potential. The
mechanisms of nutrient reduction include plant uptake, denitrification,
mineralization, volatilization, and soil adhesion (phosphorus). To encourage land
application, the Agricultural Cost-share Program provides incentive payments for
the use of spreader trucks, honey wagons, and irrigation systems. To encourage
proper nutrient management when applying wastes, all requests for payment must
be accompanied by a copy of the waste analysis used to determine the
application rate (USDA SCS, 1991). In addition to incentive payments, cost-share
funds are also available for "solid set" sprinkler application systems and hydrants,
which serve as connection points for traveling guns or other means of land
1994). Table 2-2 presents cost data for land application in
application (B.
the Tar-Pamlico basin. In addition to the costs directly associated with land
application, the table includes the costs of dry stack structures, which serve to
facilitate the proper management of a land application program (see Section
2.3.1
Table 2-2.
Land Application Cost Data
ha
5688,796
5,025
,342
10% of base
20 years
cost
ha-
(structures)
.<-
.
year
1 year
(incentive
From NC Division of Soil and Water Conservation (1994).
Land application incentive payments range from to
per 1,000 gallons of liquid or per ton of solid manure.
Payments decrease to
per 1,000 gallons for second- and third-year pumping. Incentive payments are not provided
than 3 years.
for
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