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Wisconsin DNR hearings coming up

Wisconsin farmers are encouraged to attend upcoming Department of Natural Resources hearings on proposed changes to the nonpoint source pollution regulations (NR151).

The Wisconsin Farm Bureau says the proposed changes include:

  •  Basing nutrient management plans on area water quality instead of crop needs.
  •  Creation of new performance standards for total maximum daily loads.
  •  New definitions for the phosphorus index, tillage set backs and process wastewater.
  •  A new tillage setback performance standard would prohibit tillage and row cropping within 20 feet from bodies of water.
  •  The definition of a feedlot is added and includes barnyards, exercise areas and other outdoor areas where livestock are concentrated for feeding or other purposes where vegetative cover is not maintained.

The Farm Bureau will host pre-meetings from 10:30 a.m. to noon before each hearing to further explain the proposal. All of the public hearings begin at 1 p.m. The schedule for the hearings is as follows:

  • Jan. 25 – Appleton, Outagamie County Highway Department
  • Jan. 28 – Eau Claire, Best Western Trail Lodge
  • Feb. 2 – Waukesha, State Office Building.
  • Feb. 10 – Madison, Lyman F. Anderson Agricultural and Conservation Center
  • Feb. 11 – Wausau, Rib Mountain Municipal Center

The Farm Bureau will host pre-meetings from 10:30 a.m. to noon before each hearing to further explain the proposals. 

Paul Zimmerman with the Wisconsin Farm Bureau talks about the proposal:Zimmerman-DNR

More details from the Wisconsin DNR here:

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