It’s important to note that most dairy farmers either live right next to their barns or usually close by the farm. What they do to the land, they do to themselves. So you’ll find they care an awful lot about being good environmental stewards.

Dairy farms over 200 cows in New York State may have to comply with Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) regulations that are enforced by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. These farms are highly managed to stay in compliance with the regulations. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a previous ruling indicated that New York’s dairy farms are among the most highly regulated in the U.S. CAFO size farms usually pay a certified consultant called a comprehensive nutrient management planner to develop a plan for the entire farm that addresses how they manage all the nutrients that enter and leave the farm, not just from their cow manure but everything including commercial fertilizer. Many times the farms are required to install expensive practices such as manure storage lagoons to comply with the regulations. Sometimes these practices cost over $100,000 and require strict maintenance. To learn more about the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation Regulations, go to http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/6285.html

In NYS a program was created in the 1990’s called the Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) program. Developed by agricultural and environmental planners, the AEM program gives farmers and their planners a tiered method of assessing the environmental concerns on the land and how to best address them in a common sense way that is friendly to the environment and also to the business. The AEM program is available to any size farm and not just dairy farms. To learn more about AEM go to http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/SoilWater/aem/index.html.

In Jefferson County, the agency that assists farms in being good environmental stewards is the Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District, you can learn more about them at http://www.jeffersoncountyswcd.org/index.htm