An increasing number of Delaware County farmers are using new feeding methods to cut down on the amount of polluting phosphorus entering the watershed.
Paul Cerosaletti, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County senior resource educator, said he created the program to help control phosphorus levels in manure in the Delaware and Susquehanna watersheds.
The Precision Feed Management Program began with four farms in 1999. It now boasts 37 farmers, who use feed grown on the farm to cut down on the amount of purchased feed that is loaded with phosphorus, vitamins and minerals.
"We want the program to be economically beneficial to the farmers and help them stay in business while they are dealing with feed and fuel prices that are out of control," Cerosaletti said.
Cerosaletti said there has been a dramatic expansion of the program over the last year. He said by the end of the year 40 farms will be enrolled in the program.
Lori Grant, of Franklin, said she and her husband, David, are in the second year of using the feeding program.
"I think it has been a great program so far," Grant said Friday. "From our perspective it's helping keep costs down. We would have reduced our feed costs if the price of feed hadn't risen so much recently.
"Our cows are healthier and the environmental aspects are very positive," Grant continued.
Grant said they decided to take part in the program because they were looking for ways to better manage their farm.
"The people that come to our farm also keep us up to date on what is happening at other farms so we are aware of new methods and ideas," Grant said. "There is also a yearly meeting where all the farmers involved get together. There has been nothing negative."
Dean Frazier, Delaware County Watershed Affairs commissioner, said studies have shown that the voluntary program is improving the quality of the farm's milk and increasing their profits.
"It seems to be a win-win for everybody," Frazier said Wednesday.
Phosphorous and nitrogen can build up in the soil from cow manure and run off into water sources. On all dairy farms about 65 to 75 percent of the nutrients from animal feed end up in the farm soil.
Frazier said the program has reduced phosphorous and nitrogen levels on participating farms by over 50 percent.
"When we started the program we knew it would be a major challenge," Cerosaletti said. "We were asking dairy farmers to change the way they feed their cows, which can directly affect their farm's profit engine, milk production."
The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County works with a multi-agency team that includes the Army Corps of Engineers, the Watershed Agricultural Council and the Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District to institute the program.
He said the program to date has received $3.2 million in funding. The majority of the funding has come from the Army Corps of Engineers, but there has also been funding from the Watershed Agricultural Council and the Catskill Watershed Corporation.
Dale Dewing, team agronomist, said, "This whole program has been a great cooperative effort and the key to its success are the partnerships we have built. It provides mutual benefits to everyone." Hager Farms is a 1,200-acre dairy farm in Kortright has been on the program since 2004.
"The program provides our farm a computerized feeding system that gives us accurate information on the amount and type of feed that we put into ourmixer and helps us monitor our feed inventories," Ellen Hager, owner of Hager Farms, said in a media release.
Farms participating in the program are also producing more milk revenue.
"Dairy farms on the program are making on average about 1,400 pounds more milk per cow per year," Cerosaletti said. "Depending on what the milk price is, this may be worth $250.00 more in gross milk sales per cow per year."
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Patricia Breakey can be reached at 746-2894 or at stardelhi@stny.rr.com.
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