MDA Launches 2015 “Manure Happens” Campaign

ANNAPOLIS, MD –With spring planting just around the corner, the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) has initiated a public outreach campaign to help educate citizens on how farmers recycle and manage manure resources. The campaign features a series of educational advertisements that will launch March 1 in newspapers and on mobile media, websites, and social media sites to help the general public better understand farming practices and Maryland’s rules governing manure and other nutrient sources.

Citizens who see the ads will be directed to MDA’s centralized “Manure Resources” website at www.mda.maryland.gov/manure.  In addition to providing citizens with information on how farmers recycle manure resources, the website offers resources for farmers who currently use chemical fertilizers and may want to consider switching to manure and farmers who are currently recycling manure as part of their crop production. The page provides links to additional resources available for farmers including grants, tax credits, and technical guidance; scientific research on the benefits of manure as a crop fertilizer and soil amendment, and Governor Larry Hogan’s new phosphorus initiative introduced earlier this week.

“We want citizens to be aware that farmers who recycle manure as a crop nutrient and soil conditioner following MDA guidelines and requirements are doing their part to protect local streams and the Chesapeake Bay,” said Maryland Agriculture Secretary Joe Bartenfelder. “Maryland’s nutrient management regulations prohibit farmers from spreading manure in winter. March 1, is the first opportunity for farmers to recycle manure generated over the winter. In upcoming weeks, people who live in rural areas will begin to notice the unmistakable odor of manure as farmers begin to prepare their fields for spring planting.”

MDA’s educational advertising campaign includes four different color ads. The “Pardon Me” ad features two dairy cows welcoming the scent of spring. The “I Recycle” ad  describes how farmers recycle manure using the latest environmental practices.  The “Manure Happens” ad features the backsides of cows in a pasture to explain the facts of life on the farm.  The “Looks Can Be Deceiving” ad shows a properly formed poultry litter stockpile in a field of cover crops.  All four ads direct readers to MDA’s Manure page at www.mda.maryland.gov/manure.   The ads will run throughout the month of March.

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