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Locating the feeding facility away from streams or
drainage channels.
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Diverting outside runoff away from the feedlot surface using
diversion structures and roof gutters.
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Collecting solids carried off the feedlot surface by
runoff water; solids should be settled out in channels, debris basins,
or grass waterways where they can be removed and disposed of properly on
land.
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Installing a perennial grassed buffer strip that is at least
20 to 40 feet wide when a feeding site is located near a body of water.
Factors such as slope, soil porosity, etc., should be taken into consideration
when designing the system.
A confined dairy cattle operation
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Where the water quality risk is high from filter sediments,
nutrients and microbial pathogens, and the location of the feedlot
prevents the use of a buffer strip, consider installing a runoff holding
pond. The collected runoff can be utilized on nearby crop or pasture
land. Contact your local NRCS office for design criteria.
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Making the best use of nutrients in the manure and improving
the soil’s physical properties by properly applying manure to cropland.
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Decreasing open lot surface area. Reduce areas that
are too large for the number of animals being served. For example, a smaller
area may serve more animals if it has improved surfacing and manure
is collected frequently. In addition, roofing can decrease the open lot
surface area.
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Decreasing water volume by repairing or adjusting waterers
and water systems to minimize water waste. Minimize and recycle water used
for flushing facilities.
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Decreasing wastewater discharges to watercourses. Collect
wastewater from the site and apply it to land at agronomic rates, or allow
it to evaporate. Locate structures for retaining wastewater above a mapped
100 year floodplain unless flood-proofing measures are provided.
2.3 Feedlot surfaces generally
develop a compacted manure/soil interfacial layer, usually 1 to 1½
inches thick, which provides an excellent moisture seal. This compacted
manure/soil layer greatly reduces the water infiltration rate. This zone
of low infiltration restricts leaching of salts, nitrates and ammonium
into the subsoil and underlying groundwater. When cleaning pens, avoid
disrupting the surface seal provided by the manure/soil interfacial layer
by leaving an undisturbed “manure pack.”
Feedlots that have been abandoned without manure removal
may offer greater potential for groundwater pollution than active feedlots
because of the eventual disintegration of the manure surface seal. These
lots should be scraped to bare earth and revegetated before they are permanently
abandoned.
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