Environmental Training Session For CAFOs

Jan 27, 2015

An environmental training session for operators of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs, is set for Feb. 25, 2015 in Huron.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Crossroads Convention Center (100 Fourth St. S.W.). The cost is $50 and includes lunch, breaks, and training materials. The program begins at 8:50 a.m. and concludes at approximately 4:45 p.m.

To register for the training, call Candy Rogness at 605.688.5141.

Specialists from South Dakota State University, the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service are offering the training.

This training fulfills the environmental and manure-management training requirement to obtain a livestock permit for CAFOs from the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Certified Crop Advisor credits are also available for attending this program.

Producers and any other interested individuals who are not currently applying for a permit, can also benefit from the information and are encouraged to attend.

Current federal EPA, USDA and state water pollution control programs encourage livestock producers, even those who do not need permits, to voluntarily adopt livestock production and manure management practices that protect water quality.

During the morning session, Erin Cortus, Assistant Professor & SDSU Extension Environmental Quality Engineer will discuss water quality. Bob Thaler, SDSU Extension Swine Specialist will lead a session on livestock nutrition options for reducing nitrogen and phosphorus content of manure. Jason Roggow, a natural resources engineer with the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, will give an overview of the South Dakota DENR Livestock Permit program.

Click here to see more...

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.