Comprehensive nutrient management plan

Comprehensive nutrient management plans (CNMPs) have become an integral part of the regulatory permitting and environmental stewardship for animal feeding operations (AFOs) of all sizes.
A CNMP is developed to assist an animal feeding operation to meet local, tribal, state, and federal water quality goals and regulations. CNMPs are developed in accordance with U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly the Soil Conservation Service) conservation planning policies and Environmental Protection Agency guidance. The CNMP fits within the total resource management objectives of the entire farm/animal feeding operation. It identifies management and conservation actions necessary to meet clearly defined nutrient management goals aimed at reducing excess nutrients in soil and water. Conservation practices may include manure and wastewater handling and storage, land treatment practices, and feed practices.
In 1999, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a joint "Unified National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations", which presented a plan for addressing the potential water quality and public health impacts associated with animal feeding operations (AFOs). The Strategy articulated a national performance expectation that all AFOs should develop and implement technically sound, economically feasible, and site-specific comprehensive nutrient management plans (CNMPs) to minimize potential adverse impacts on water quality and public health, and to accomplish this within a 10-year implementation period.
In 1999, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a joint "Unified National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations"(Strategy), which presented a plan for addressing the potential water quality and public health impacts associated with AFOs. The Strategy recognized the complementary roles to be played by voluntary and regulatory programs. Importantly, the Strategy articulated a national performance expectation that all AFOs should develop and implement technically sound, economically feasible, and site-specific comprehensive nutrient management plans (CNMPs) to minimize potential adverse impacts on water quality and public health, and to accomplish this within a 10-year implementation period.

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