10/01/01

By MARK POWELL

Maryland’s agriculture department issued a press advisory Sept. 28, reminding farmers that they must provide MDA with a “Justifiction for Plan Submission Delay” form if they are unable to secure a consultant to develop a nutrient management plan by the Dec. 31 deadline.
Maryland’s Water Quality Improvement Act of 1998 makes nutrient management plans mandatory that all farming operations which gross $2,500 or more annually, or are raising 8,000 pounds or more of live animal weight.
Secretary of Agriculture Hagner Mister says in the press release: “We understand that many consultants are experiencing a backlog of requests for nutrient management plans. However, being placed on a consultant’s list does not automatically satisfy the requirements of the law. There are certain procedures and deadlines that apply.”
One procedure is providing MDA with a completed and signed Justification for Plan Submission Delay form if a nutrient management plan cannot be developed by Dec. 31.
The time line for submitting the forms and qualifying for a play submission delay is:
• Before Nov. 1, farmers must contact a consultant for services.
• Nov. 1, consultants must sign the Justification for Plan Submission Delay form.
• Dec. 31, the Justification for Play Submission Delay form is due at the MDA. MDA states that it is the farmer’s responsibility to ensure that the form is sent to MDA by the deadline. Justification for Plan Submission Delay forms were shipped out last week to MDA regional nutrient management offices and soil conservation districts throughout the state. In addition, nutrient management consultants have been provided the forms.
Farmers can also call MDA at (410) 841-5959 to get a form.
The MDA announcement came after a meeting last week in Annapolis with ag groups advising the ag department on the nutrient management law. There are many concerns with the unpopular program from farm organizations. They range from opposition to the requirement that farmers with nutrient management plans give right of entry to their farms to state employees to worries that record keeping and required update of plans will prove expensive and overly burdensome.
Valerie Connelly of Maryland Farm Bureau, the largest farmer group in the state, said Farm Bureau and other farmer groups would be meeting to discuss ways to relook at the nutrient management program. Many political insiders say it is virtually an impossibility to repeal the nutrient management law or make major changes to it.
However, the new chairman of the House Environmental Matters Committee has asked for a report of the concerns with the law later in the year.