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Copyright © 2001 Eastern Ontario Farmers Forum Inc. All Rights Reserved |
Farm odour back on NMA agenda
OMAF odour research in full gear
by Joe Meagher
Farmers may be
faced with having to contain the smell of manure as OMAF gears up for
possible changes to the Nutrient Management Act.
OMAF recently pitched the need for
"odour management" to the 24-member nutrient management advisory
committee saying there could be a need for setbacks for land application
or a requirement in the Nutrient Management Act for incorporation of
manure. Members expressed shock because they thought odour was not part of
the plan as it is a social issue, not an environmental issue. At the same meeting, the advisory
committee was told that research to measure odour emitting from the
management of nutrients was a government priority. What they weren’t
told was that OMAF had already contracted a private lab to conduct
research into the smell of manure and biosolids, while plans to field test
odours in the spring are in full swing. The field tests will involve "panellists"
standing down wind from different types of manure and biosolids that have
been spread using different methods. Jake DeBruyn, an environmental
engineer with OMAF, said that odour management is something the ministry
has always considered. In 2002, when the NMA was being drafted, the
ministry didn’t have the science to support odour regulations, he said. With the current odour research, OMAF will have the
science to support legislation restricting the use of manure and biosolids,
he added.