The term Best Management Practice (BMP) refers to a combination of practices determined to be effective, economical approaches to preventing or reducing pollution generated by nonpoint sources. Even under ideal conditions with properly calculated, well-timed, and appropriately placed fertility applications, land application systems will have losses to ground or surface water, so BMPs are necessary to minimize the impacts of these losses.
BMPs can be structural like in the construction of terraces, sedimentation basins, vegetated waterways, or fencing. They can also be managerial like crop rotation, plant tissue analysis, and conservation tillage. Both types of BMPs require good management to effectively reduce the generation or delivery of pollutants from agricultural activities. In a nutrient management plan, it is important to indicate the BMPs that will be used on all land application areas.
When properly carried out, BMPs improve water quality. Best management practices relating to manure management are those practices that minimize nutrient impact on the environment and optimize nutrient uptake by plants, thus improving the economic value of the manure. They will change over time as technology and understanding of the complex environment improves. Likewise, BMPs are very site specific, and a BMP in one place may not be useful for another location.
Key BMPs for land application include soil and manure analysis,
nutrient management planning, calibration of application equipment, manure treatments such as alum, manure injection or incorporation, critical area protection/vegetated waterways, water diversions, terraces or contour planting, riparian buffers or filter strips, the use of cover crops, “scavenger" crops or crop rotations, conservation or reduced tillage, ponds or retention structures, and rotational grazing or pasture management.
Mark Risse, University of Georgia
