The topics in this newsletter are considered to be timely and of interest. Comments and suggestions are invited. The use of trade names in this newsletter is not an endorsement of any company or product by the Maryland Cooperative Extension, University of Maryland, College Park.
David S. Ross, Extension Agricultural Engineer

The following Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service publications are being highlighted this month for growers and marketers.

Orders should be sent to NRAES, Cooperative Extension, 152 Riley-Robb Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-5701. Quantity discounts are available. Major credit cards are accepted, and checks should be made payable to NRAES. For information about quantity discounts, or for a free publications catalog, contact NRAES by phone at (607) 255-7654, by fax (607) 254-8770, or by E-mail at nraes@cornell.edu. NRAES also maintains a web site at http://www.nraes.org.

Composting continues to gain momentum as an environmentally sound way to stabilize and reduce the volume of agricultural and municipal wastes. A new publication from the Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service (NRAES) is designed to help agricultural producers in the day-to-day management of an on-farm composting operation.

The Field Guide to On-Farm Composting ($14.00 plus S&H/sales tax, 128 pages, April 1999) is a handy reference guide that helps on-farm composters find practical information about composting quickly and easily. It answers common questions such as: What is the optimum moisture content and bulk density of a compost mix? Why is my compost operation odorous and how can I control the odor? How long does it take to compost poultry mortality? How much compost can I land apply? The field guide was developed as a companion to the best-selling NRAES publication On-Farm Composting Handbook (NRAES-54) and is available from NRAES. It will be a valuable educational tool for cooperative extension educators and agricultural advisors.

The Field Guide to On-Farm Composting is intended to be used in the field. It is compact, spiral-bound, and printed on durable glossy paper with a laminated cover. Colored chapter tabs make finding a specific chapter a snap. The text is supplemented with 17 tables, 24 illustrations, commonly used equations, bulleted lists, and many sample calculations for at-a-glance referencing. Other highlights include 24 color photos and a case study written by technical staff of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS); the study discusses results of agricultural field trials using compost on highly erodible soils in the state of Texas.

The field guide contains six chapters. Chapter 1, "Operations and Equipment," reviews composting operations, from raw material preparation to compost storage, and discusses equipment needed for on-farm composting. Chapter 2, "Raw Materials and Recipe Making," presents descriptions and characteristics of the most common raw materials used for on-farm composting and includes easy-to-read tables and standard formulas for developing a successful recipe. Examples of recipe formulation are included. A special section reviews the basics of recipe making for first-time composters. Chapter 3, "Process Control and Evaluation," discusses steps for maintaining the necessary biological conditions in a compost pile and reviews sampling, testing, and troubleshooting procedures. A lengthy troubleshooting guide is included at the end of the chapter. Chapter 4, "Site Considerations, Environmental Management, and Safety," presents basic requirements for siting a farm composting operation, including area and buffer zone requirements; reviews common nuisances such as odors, pests, runoff, and leachate and outlines procedures for controlling them; and discusses important safety issues, including worker health. Chapter 5, "Composting Livestock and Poultry Mortalities," explains procedures for planning, constructing, and managing an animal-mortality composting operation. A discussion of pertinent environmental and regulatory issues is included. Chapter 6, "Compost Utilization on the Farm," examines important characteristics and benefits of farm compost and presents a brief overview of the most common uses of compost on the farm. Equations and tables for determining appropriate application rates are included as well.

The Field Guide to On-Farm Composting was edited by Mark Dougherty, former NRAES staff engineer. The project was made possible through a cooperative agreement between NRAES and the USDA-NRCS.

The Field Guide to On-Farm Composting, NRAES-114, is available for $14.00 per copy plus shipping and handling from NRAES, Cooperative Extension, 152 Riley-Robb Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-5701. Shipping and handling for one copy is $3.75 within the continental United States.

This news release and other information about the Field Guide to On-Farm Composting (including a complete table of contents) is available electronically at:

Times are changing in society and on the farm. Society is more concerned about clean air and water than ever before. Animal agriculture is becoming more intense: farms are larger, animals are more concentrated, and farms are operating on a smaller profit margin. With pressure to control costs and protect the environment, farm managers are looking for waste management options that meet their concerns as well as those of society. Relatively inexpensive earthen manure storages are likely to play an important role in many farm waste management systems for economic, environmental, and management reasons. However, there is a lack of information about safe, environmentally sound, practical designs.

A new book published by the Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service (NRAES) was written to meet the needs of producers, engineers, and design professionals who are seeking information about designing, constructing, and managing earthen storages. Earthen Manure Storage Design Considerations, NRAES-109, ($18.00 plus S&H/sales tax, 100 pages, April 1999) discusses the planning and design of earthen manure storage facilities -- from locating and sizing a storage to managing it safely and ensuring that it meets all applicable ordinances and regulations. The publication will be a valuable resource to anyone involved in the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and regulation of earthen manure storage facilities.

Earthen Manure Storage Design Considerations contains eleven chapters that examines all aspects of earthen manure storage design and operation. It covers environmental policies (both existing legislation and trends for possible future legislation); design standards and planning documents (such as nutrient management and waste management plans); manure characteristics; storage planning (determining size and location, loading and unloading methods, on-site soils investigations, and regulations); storage design (stability and drainage issues, types of liners, and safety); construction (quality assurance, earthwork, topsoil placement, seeding, and documentation); management (maintaining the structure, clearing drains, and manure management); and liability.

A lengthy appendix provides U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) guidelines and calculations for soil earthen manure storage liners. Other appendixes include descriptions of pumps used to handle manure, cost estimate information, conversion factors, and important addresses for more information and guidance. Fourteen tables, 26 illustrations, and a glossary supplement the text.

Earthen Manure Storage Design Considerations, NRAES-109, is available for $18.00 per copy plus shipping and handling from NRAES, Cooperative Extension, 152 Riley-Robb Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-5701. Shipping and handling for one copy is $3.75 within the continental United States.

This news release and other information about Earthen Manure Storage Design Considerations (including a complete table of contents) is available electronically at:

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an approach that uses knowledge from many disciplines to enhance profitability, optimize environmental stewardship, and protect human health. Minimizing reliance on chemical pesticides is one important goal of IPM. A new IPM Field Corn Pocket Guide brings together in a compact format information needed for successful Integrated Pest Management and Integrated Crop Management (ICM) for field corn growers in the Northeast and their advisors. A collaborative work by experts from across the region, the IPM Field Corn Pocket Guide, IPM-1 (January 1999, 280 pages), is available from NRAES, the Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service, for $7.00 plus shipping and handling and sales tax.

Some key principles of IPM include management strategies such as crop rotation, site selection, and hybrid selection; identification of pests, environmental stress, nutritional deficiency, or other factors as causes of field problems; sampling or scouting to assess the damage potential of pests; weighing of costs, benefits, and risks of cultural, mechanical, biological, and chemical controls; and implementation of pest control at optimal times in the life cycles of pests and crops. After an introductory overview, the IPM Field Corn Pocket Guide concisely presents information for scouting and managing insect pests, beneficial insects, corn plant diseases, and vertebrate pests, grass weeds, and broadleaf weeds. Also covered are plant and soil health and fertility and postharvest storage. Appendixes include useful formulas, conversions, and comparisons. Offering guidance on identifying and managing insect, weed, and vertebrate pests as well as nutritional deficiencies, the 280-page publication includes over 80 line drawings, 18 color plates, and more than 40 tables-all in a handy 3 1/4-inch by 6-inch format. Five fold-out reference charts provide insect pest action thresholds, management alternatives, and sampling strategies; pictorial keys to grasses and broadleaf weeds; and "Be Your Own Corn Doctor" full-color diagnostic illustrations.

The IPM Field Corn Pocket Guide is an expansion and revision of a 1997 book, Your Pocket Guide to Alfalfa and Field Corn Management, produced for New York State by P. Sutton, C. Koplinka-Loehr, M. Haining Cowles, J. VanKirk, and J. K. Waldron. The IPM Field Corn Pocket Guide offers regional coverage as well as substantial additional material on field corn, including diagnostic color plates. New features include pull-out color guides and keys, color disease plates, a practical thumb-index, coverage of vertebrate pest management, a guide to corn development, and expanded sections on corn yield loss and management of dried stored grain.

IPM Field Corn Pocket Guide, IPM-1, is available for $7.00 per copy plus shipping and handling, from NRAES, Cooperative Extension, 152 Riley-Robb Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-5701. Shipping and handling for one copy is $3.50 within the continental United States.

This news release and other information concerning the IPM Field Corn Pocket Guide is available electronically at

Proper pesticide storage and handling is both a safety and an economic issue. Worker and environmental safety are important considerations; preserving or extending the life of the chemicals by storing them properly means dollars in the pocket. This publication discusses considerations a farmer should make regarding agrichemical storage, principal parts of the facility, storage environmental requirements, safety requirements, and storage alternatives. Included in this publication are two appendixes; one is a plan for a post-frame chemical storage building, and another is a list of companies that distribute equipment for storage or containment of chemicals. Also included are one table, seventeen figures, conversion factors, and a list of publications for further reading. On-Farm Agrichemical Handling Facilities, NRAES-78, is available for $6.00 plus postage and handling from NRAES.