Some farmers are required to address their nutrient management as required by the
Nutrient and Odor Management Act (Act 38):
The Pennsylvania Nutrient and Odor Management Act requires all Concentrated Animal Operations (CAOs) and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) to develop and submit a nutrient management plan to the Conservation District for review and approval.
- A CAO is a farm that has 2 Animal Equivalent Units (1 AEU = 1,000 pounds of animal on a typical production day) or more per acre available for manure application. Available acreage includes all owned and / or rented crop, hay and pasture lands.
- A CAFO is a farm of any acreage that has more than 1000 AEU, or a CAO with more than 300 AEU.
- Please click here to determine whether an operation is a CAO, CAFO, or neither, and what plan you may need.
- Farm operations that are expanding, or are starting a new livestock operation and will be a CAO or CAFO must have a plan developed and approved prior to starting the expanded or new operation.
- Farm operations may also volunteer to get a nutrient management plan to assist in the conservation and management of their farm.
Plans must be developed by a certified planner.
Click this link to access the most up to date list of certified nutrient management specialists in the state. Set the program type to Nutrient Management Specialist, and specify your county of interest or select "all counties" and examine the regions each planner covers.
For more information and resources, please see the Pennsylvania Nutrient Management website.
