Overview: Small farm agriculture is a prevalent land use within our region and can be a significant source of water pollution. Most of these small farms do not fall under the EPA Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation regulations and its comprehensive nutrient management planning requirements. Often, they do not take advantage of assistance programs because of a lack of awareness or an inability to contribute requisite matching funds for capital improvements. Many of these farms operate in rural and urbanizing areas close to high density residential areas and water resources. The amount of land per animal unit is typically very small, resulting in problems with manure storage, handling and use. When improperly managed, these farms may contribute excess nutrients, bacteria and other pathogens, organic matter, sediments and odors to the environment. On these lands, erosion, sedimentation, loss of vegetation, loss of riparian buffers and private well contamination may occur.
The Small Farms Initiative: Within the Northeast States and Caribbean Islands Regional Water Program, there are numerous programs that assist small farms – these programs will share resources to garner strength throughout the region. Region 2’s early initiatives revolved around environmental management demonstration facilities where best management practices (BMPs) are designed, implemented and evaluated by faculty-supervised student teams. There has been extensive collaboration amongst Extension at UPR and UVI to address animal waste management issues on small farms in the Caribbean Islands and this interest will be expanded through the Region’s Island Initiative. A national training program for small farm regulators and technical assistance providers was piloted in New Jersey in March 2008. This curriculum will be made available in modular format so that it can be customized in other states in the region and the nation. Plans are in place to distribute these materials through the National Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center’s website and webcasts and it is part of the national eXtension Animal Manure Management Initiative, Small Farms Team, led by faculty from Rutgers and North Carolina State University.With an Extension Education grant from NIFA, URI is developing an educational program for small acreage livestock owners and managers focusing on pollution prevention BMPs.
With these programs expanded throughout our region, there will be increased development and implementation of nutrient management plans on small farms and increased consideration of water quality impacts when making livestock management decisions on adopting BMPs to address pollution and health risks.
The National Center for Manure and Animal Waste Management members developed white papers that describe the state of knowledge about and list research and knowledge needs related to a range of animal waste management topics. Summaries of these white papers can be viewed through the Center’s web site 
. Topics of particular interest to water quality include:
- Land application of manure for beneficial reuse
- Manure management strategies/technologies
- The Phosphorus Index
- Pathogens in animal wastes
- Manure marketing
