The 1997 pfiesteria outbreak in the Chesapeake Bay underscored the importance of managing farm nutrients to protect the environment. Maryland’s Water Quality Improvement Act of 1998required farmers to use manure and chemical fertilizers in accordance with approved nutrient management plans designed to reduce nutrient leaching and runoff that can harm the Bay. Research and extension faculty at the University of Maryland have analyzed the likely economic impacts of the Act and have discussed ways government can make compliance easier and less costly.
Publications
Center for Agricultural and Natural Resource Policy. 2012. "Does it Matter Who Writes Your Nutrient Management Plan? Evidence from Voluntary Nutrient Management Plans in Maryland." Research Briefs. 1(6).
Erik Lichtenberg, Doug Parker, and Lori Lynch, “Economic Value of Poultry Litter Supplies in Alternative Uses”, Policy Analysis Report 02-02, Center for Agricultural and Natural Resource Policy, University of Maryland, College Park, October 2002.
Lynch, Lori and Robert Tjaden, “Willingness of Forest Landowners to Use Poultry Litter as Fertilizer,” AREC Working Paper 01-09, 2001.
Presentations
Lichtenberg, Erik, “Economics of Manure Management”, CAFO Roundtable, Annapolis, MD, October 3, 2012. Slides (pdf)
Lichtenberg, Erik, "Economics of Manure Management", eXtension/Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center webcast, November 30, 2011
https://lpelc.org/economics-of-using-and-transporting-manure/
