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Michigan Manure Summit focuses on safety

The Michigan Manure Hauler Certification program is training farmers and their employees on how to protect the environment and people if a spill occurs.

Michigan Farm Bureau’s Tess Van Gorder tells Brownfield teams will have to work through emergency response scenarios as part of this week’s Michigan Manure Summit.

“To try and help farmers and haulers prepare so in the event that something happens while they’re on the road or on the farm, they’re hauling manure, getting it out of the pit, they are confident in how to do that,” she shares.

The certification program provides farms with third-party education and training on manure handling, current regulations, and insurance premium discounts.

Van Gorder says spills should be reported to the state’s pollution hotline and every farm needs a crisis plan.

“Making sure the farm has that and to know who you call, who do you call first?” she explains. “Who are your points of contact? You really want to focus on protecting human life and also then if there are any concerns about it reaching water, you want to be able to prevent the movement.”

Michigan’s program has been modeled after the University of Wisconsin Extension’s which has found large reductions in manure spills after offering voluntary certifications.

 Van Gorder says organizers in Michigan are planning for a similar study.

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