The inaugural virtual Michigan Manure Management Summit is a great educational opportunity for anyone who hauls and applies manure, providing updates on the science, regulations and best practices of manure management.
2020 threw people for a loop in many ways, but one thing hasn’t changed—animals still produce manure that needs to be managed.
Michigan Farm Bureau and Michigan State University Extension are excited to announce the inaugural Michigan Manure Management Summit.
The first annual Michigan Manure Management Summit will be a great opportunity for all individuals who haul and apply manure to gain a better understanding of the Michigan Manure Hauler Certification Program and to hear from others in the industry about considerations with managing manure from beginning to end.
The virtual summit will be held January 20-21, 2021, with sessions running from 10 a.m. to noon on both days.
Sessions on January 20 will include an overview of the certification program, including manure application equipment inspection recommendations as well as tips for dealing with the public and conducting proper employee training.
January 21 will start with a general session on reducing operator error, before splitting into two different tracks—one for farmers and another for commercial firms (custom haulers/applicators)—based on participant selection at registration.
The farm track sessions will cover preparing a Farm Environmental Management Safety plan, OSHA and workplace standards for manure storage safety, as well as preventing manure storage failure and barnyard runoff.
Topics covered in the commercial firm track will include newer manure application technology, reducing the potential of land application incidents, and the development of a Farm Environmental Management Safety plan.
“While we know virtual meetings may not be everyone’s preferred experience, we hope that the topics and breakout sessions will help keep people engaged and provide great information to attendees,” said Tess Van Gorder, Michigan Farm Bureau’s associate policy and regulatory specialist.
There is also a deal for the Michigan Manure Hauler Certification Program available for attendees of the summit. Attendees who register and attend both days of the summit will be able to register to start Level 1 of the Michigan Manure Hauler Certification Program for free through February 28.
Next Steps and Additional Information
Registration information and the complete Summit schedule can be found at: https://events.anr.msu.edu/mimms/.
The cost to register is $50 per person. The summit will also provide required continuing education units for individuals who have been certified in any level by the Michigan Manure Hauler Certification Program. Additional information about the Michigan Manure Hauler Certification Program can be found here: https://www.canr.msu.edu/animal-agriculture/Manure-Hauler-Training/
Questions?
Contact Tess Van Gorder with Michigan Farm Bureau at tvangor@michfb.com or 517-323-6711, or Erica Rogers with MSU Extension at roger392@msu.edu or 814-441-1356.
This article was adapted from an article originally appearing in the online version of Michigan Farm News. This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).
This release was authored by Erica Rogers, MSU Extension, and Tess Van Gorder, Michigan Farm Bureau.