Precision Dairy Feeding to Reduce Nutrient Pollution in Pennsylvania's Waters and the Chesapeake Bay

Almost 4,000 miles of Pennsylvania streams are impaired by agricultural non-point source pollution, primarily due to excessive loadings of sediment and nutrients, predominantly from livestock manure. The scientific body of evidence accumulated by the efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay has clearly established the need to resolve this manure nutrient overload. Precision dairy feeding has been identified as a critical component of Pennsylvania’s strategy to reduce non-point agricultural water pollution. The practice is cited for widespread implementation in the State’s Tributary Strategy and is identified as a key cost effective strategy in the Chesapeake Bay Commission’s publication, Cost Effective Strategies for the Bay, published in December 2004. Precision feeding reduces nitrogen and phosphorus inputs to the levels required to maintain optimum production, resulting in 20-40% reductions in the nutrient content of manure. Through this project, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and its partners will work with Pennsylvania dairy producers to bring about significant changes in the dairy industry’s standard feeding practices and subsequently improve water quality.