Weekly Update April 30, 2010

Welcome to Weekly Update, a publication of Western United Environmental Services (WUES). Our goal is to provide you with the latest information about the Waste Discharge Requirement’s from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board and how our organization can help you with your environmental challenges. All previous publications of the Weekly Update can be found in the News section on our website at www.wuenvironmental.com.

Dairy producers in the Central Valley who have identified deficiencies in their nutrient management infrastructure or need other improvements can apply for funds for addressing those issues under the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP). The deadline to apply for funds is June 1 at any local USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) office. Western United Dairymen partnered with USDA-NRCS to bring this additional $4.4 million in AWEP funding to dairy producers in the Central Valley and is working with NRCS to make dairy producers aware that the funding is available. AWEP is a voluntary conservation initiative that provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to implement agricultural water enhancement activities on agricultural land for the purposes of conserving surface and ground water and improving water quality. Western United Dairymen sought this funding to assistance producers in complying with water quality regulations. Producers have developed Nutrient Management Plans and are now developing Waste Management Plans that may indicate where improvements are needed. This funding can help producers complete those needed improvements. More information and applications are available at your local Central Valley USDA NRCS office.

Regulations hampering dairy economic recovery, WUD tells Stanford food symposium

Complex, confusing and contradictory regulatory requirements are impeding the California dairy industry’s economic recovery; Western United Dairymen told those gathered Friday for Stanford University’s annual Law and Policy Review Food Policy Symposium. Paul Martin, WUD’s Environmental Services Director, appeared on a panel on the environmental impact of food production and policy. Martin presented data on the severe economic crisis facing the state’s dairy industry, which is a huge economic driver for both the Valley and the state’s economy. As California dairy families try to dig out from underneath the collapse of milk prices, “The process of many of these over-lapping regulations often impedes progress,” said Martin. The panel discussed what the term sustainability means to various economic sectors. Martin used the example of a three-legged milking stool to show how economics, ethics and science support the “seat” of local cultural mores. “I encouraged the audience members to buy local, real California milk as a way to show support for sustaining California dairy families,” he said. Martin also held up the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program as an example of how collaborative efforts are more effective than government intervention. April 28, 2010 Western United Dairymen

Compared to where they were last year, California dairy farmers have reason to breathe a little easier. The price of milk will get a boost in May. Dairy exports are up. And with signs of an improving economy, there is hope that the worst is behind them. Whether they can pay their bills will depend largely on whether they'll be able to get operating loans, and some farmers are having a tough time with their lenders, said Michael Marsh, chief executive officer of Western United Dairymen. <more> April 28, 2010 Ag Alert

Click here to view a Channel 3 KCRA-TV report on this tour. Sustainable Conservation brought a busload of government regulatory officials, environmentalists and farmers on a tour of state-of-the-art biomehtane systems Wednesday. The tour visited Livermore’s Waste Management Inc site to view the world’s largest plant converting purified landfill gas to liquefied methane to fuel garbage trucks. Next stop was Fiscalini Farms in Modesto where WUD member and cheesemaker John Fiscalini provided an up-close look at his 1,500 cow operation that provides manure for a methane digester operation that has seen significant regulatory challenges placed in its path. Fiscalini talked about those obstacles in this video interview provided by the Central Valley Business Times. The tour proceeded to Hilmar Cheese Company to view the first cow-powered truck in the U.S. delivering milk from the dairy of WUD member Rob Hilarides. The tour's final stop was the Turlock Municipal CNG Fueling Station which is hailed as a bridge to future biomethane fueling stations. To view a gallery of photos taken at the Fiscalini farms tour, please click here. April 28, 2010 Western United Dairymen

California Milk Advisory Board holds Media Training Boot Camp for California Dairy Producers

Telling your stories and shaping the messages that reach consumers are an important way to build demand for California milk and dairy products. Having the right messages and knowing how to deliver them can be a challenge. The California Milk Advisory Board is presenting a Media Training Boot Camp program to help give California dairy producers the tips and tools they need to be able to represent our industry – both in media situations and when interacting with consumers who have questions. The training schedule is listed below – you can attend any session that fits with your schedule. E-mail Jennifer Giambroni at the CMAB: jgiambroni@cmab.net to reserve your space. Or call (650) 871-6459, x304 for more information.

Cows help you fill your cereal bowl, bake your cake and adorn your pizza. Now right here in Tulare County — cows will help you fill your gas tank. Calgren Renewable Fuels, the Pixley-based ethanol plant, has been awarded a $4.68 million matching grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to utilize dairy cow gas to make ethanol. The money will go to construction of a digester used to break down manure to make clean burning biomethane — the green equivalent of natural gas. “This will mean we can further reduce our carbon footprint in making ethanol,” said Calgren CEO Lyle Schlyer. <more> April 26, 2010 SIERRA2THESEA NEWS SERVICE

May 2010

1^st of the month	Photograph Free Board in Ponds
Each week	Visual inspection (production and waste storage areas; ponds)
Process wastewater application	Visual inspections, volume, date, field & laboratory analysis
Solid manure application	Volume/density OR weight/moisture, and lab analysis 2x per year
Manure Exports	Measure volume/density OR weight/moisture
Harvest	Yield, lab analysis
Irrigation event	Volume, source, date, EC and total nitrogen (for each source annually)
Tail water discharge	Date, time, volume, duration, location, source, destination, field measurements & lab analysis if within 60 days of manure application.

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