Nutrient Management Annual Implementation Reporting Forms are in the Mail

ANNAPOLIS, MD (Jan. 20, 2011) – Maryland farmers will notice a few changes when they receive  their 2010 Nutrient Management Annual Implementation Reporting Forms (AIR) in the mail over the next several days, according to officials at the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA).  The AIRs are due to MDA by March 1.

The reporting forms were mailed the week of January 17 to approximately 5,500 Maryland farmers who are regulated under Maryland’s Nutrient Management Program. These farmers are required to follow nutrient management plans on their farms and submit Annual Implementation Reports (AIRs) to MDA by March 1 describing how they utilized nutrients in the previous calendar year.

“The AIR looks somewhat different this year,” said Maryland Agriculture Secretary Earl F. Hance. “We’ve made several changes in our reporting requirements that will enable us to better characterize how farmers are managing nutrients. This will help us to present a more accurate picture of agriculture’s role in protecting water quality as we move forward with the Chesapeake Bay cleanup effort and Maryland’s Watershed Implementation Plan,” he added.

According to Secretary Hance, in previous years, farmers reported manure and other organic nutrient sources as total tons or gallons applied.  This year, MDA is asking for the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content of all nutrients applied to be reported in pounds.  Information on the amount of nutrients contained in manure or other organic nutrient sources should be available in the farm’s nutrient management plan or on a current manure analysis.  MDA is also providing a calculation worksheet and lookup tables to help farmers determine the amount of nutrients contained in these sources.  In addition, an Excel spreadsheet calculator will be available on MDA’s web site to help farmers convert nutrients contained in manure/organic sources to specific rates of nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium.

For farmers who prefer to file their AIRs electronically, a fillable PDF reporting form is available on MDA’s web site.  The electronic form has been reformatted in order to make it easier to follow and more user-friendly.  MDA strongly encourages farmers to take advantage of electronic reporting, which reduces processing time and virtually eliminates data entry errors.  Farmers can access the electronic reporting form by visiting www.mda.state.md.us and clicking on Nutrient Management.  The electronic form appears in the upper right corner of the screen as a PDF with fillable fields.
For more information, farmers should contact their regional nutrient management office or call the Nutrient Management Program at 410-841-5959.