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Assessment Tools The Partners for Livestock EMS
project developed several comprehensive risk assessment tools for use on
livestock operations. These tools
assign each response to a risk category (low, medium-low, medium-high, and
high). They were designed to be
applied to a wide variety of species, facilities, and geographical locations
and contain a large number of questions and worksheets. The suggested uses for these
tools are: 1. As a
reference on a wide variety of issues and questions applicable to many
different types of operations and a wide variety of geographical locations. 2. To
customize (by editing, adding or removing) questions/sections for a specific
producer or group of producers. Agricultural producers who
wish to utilize the tools in the links below should realize that there will
be many questions/sections that may not apply to your specific
operation. Skip or delete sections
that are not applicable when completing your assessment. Site Management—a tool to assist mapping and evaluating risks related
to the siting of your livestock and land
application activities. There is also
a section related to facility appearance. Farm Nutrient Balance—a tool to assist in calculating whether an operation is
concentrating nitrogen (N) or phosphorus (P).
Land Application—a tool to evaluate land application practices
related to manure. Also see the Appendix. Farmstead Issues-Manure and Related
Effluents—a tool
to evaluate the farmstead and open lots, feed storage, and other items
directly related to livestock production. Farmstead Issues-Multimedia--a tool to evaluate farmstead issues such as
pesticide, fertilizer, and fuel storage, water well condition, household
waste management, shop wastes and medical disposables. Manure
Storage—a tool to evaluate a variety of manure storage types and systems. Pastureland
and Rangeland—a tool to evaluate livestock on pastures and winter feeding
areas. Assessment Tools Developed by the State
Pilot Teams Each of the state pilot teams
was encouraged to modify the assessments (listed above) or utilize
their own existing tools, to better fit their audiences. The results of their efforts are listed
below. The UW team developed online
assessment tools for Questions? Contact Janice Kepka or Brian
Holmes, University of Wisconsin-Madison. New York (dairy producers)-Dr. Peter
Wright (formerly with Cornell University) modified the assessment tools,
developed as part of this project, to include terminology and questions
related to dairy producers. These
tools are comprehensive and meant to be modified by a third party familiar
with state-specific regulations before use by a producer. Producers who wish to utilize these tools
should recognize that there will likely be many questions or sections that do
not apply to your specific operation.
Skip or delete the questions that do not apply. The assessments are divided into the
following topics: Manure Storage, Pasture, Land Application of Manure,
Farmstead-Manure and
Related Effluents, Farmstead-Other
Issues, Farm
Nutrient Balance (Part A), Farm Nutrient Balance
(Part B), Odors All were modified in 2003. Georgia (poultry producers) This
pilot team allowed their participants to choose from a variety of tools
available. For an online list of some of
those tools, go to the Georgia
Environmental Assessments website For questions, contact Tommy
Bass, or Mark
Risse, Virginia (poultry producers)-This
pilot team worked with poultry producers in a highly regulated
environment. To access these assessment
tools, visit the Virginia Poultry EMS website or use the links below. Assessment chapters- Introduction, Regulations, Site Management, Odor , Nutrients, Manure Storage Site, Mortality, Pests, Biosecurity,
BMP, Appendix A (Virginia specific
resources), Appendix B
(biosolids) Modified 2003. For questions contact Lori Marsh
or Matt Habersack at Pennsylvania
poultry assessment tool For questions contact Paul Patterson
at Montana
EMS Workbook-includes an environmental self-assessment for beef
operations. Meant to be used in
conjunction with the Montana EMS Guidebook. For questions, contact Gene Surber, Iowa
Feedlot Environmental Assessment Tool The Partners for Livestock
Environmental Management Assessment Systems project was supported by a USDA
Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service (CSREES) grant #
00-52103-9650.
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University of Nebraska
Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Copyright © 2005 University of
Nebraska-Lincoln
For questions or suggestions
about this web page, contact Jill Heemstra,
Photo credits: The dairy, swine
and poultry photos are courtesy of the USDA NRCS photo gallery. Other photos were taken by Jill Heemstra.