2012 Annual Implementation Forms Mailed to Farmers; Now Available On-Line

The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) has announced that 2012 Annual Implementation Reporting forms (AIRs) and instructions have been mailed to about 5,500 Maryland farmers who are regulated under the Nutrient Management Program. These farmers are required to manage their farms using nutrient management plans and submit AIRs to MDA by March 1, 2013 describing how they utilized nutrients during the previous calendar year. The forms are also available on MDA’s web site at www.mda.maryland.gov.

The 2012 AIR requests information on ways farmers manage nutrients from all sources, including commercial fertilizers, manures, biosolids and other organic materials. It includes a section where farmers report changes in property parcels reported on last year’s AIR. New this year, farmers will be required to:

Include a Social Security Number or Federal Employer Identification Number;

Provide the number of poultry houses and their size;

Calculate the total poultry litter collected based on actual records;

Provide the date that any manure storage structures were installed;

Report acreage managed under GPS-guided equipment.

For a second year, animal operations operating under a CAFO Permit from the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) will submit only one AIR-MDE/CAFO Reporting Form to MDA. The combined form is four pages and simplifies the reporting process for animal operations that are required to report their nutrient management activities to both MDA and MDE. MDA will copy the part of the form that it needs and forward the CAFO portion to MDE. CAFOs will also be required to submit a manure analysis with their CAFO reporting form.

MDA has retained the questions from last year’s AIR concerning best management practices in use on farms since this data needs to be reported annually to the federal Chesapeake Bay Program. An additional question on GPS-guided equipment was added.

“This is a unique opportunity for Maryland’s agricultural community to document the full contributions that day-to-day farm management provides in reducing the flow of nutrients and sediment to local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay,” said Maryland Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance.

Farmers should check their mailboxes for MDA’s 2012 AIR. They can also access the reporting forms and instructions by visiting www.mda.maryland.gov and clicking on Hot Topics. The 2012 AIR appears in the next window with options to print the form or download a fillable PDF which can be saved and printed.

For more information, farmers should contact their regional nutrient management office or call the Nutrient Management Program at 410-841-5959.