Farmscape for July 12, 2007  (Episode 2536)

Officials of the Manitoba Livestock Manure Management Initiative hope to expand the organization's research mandate beyond hogs to include other livestock species by the end of this year.

The Manitoba Livestock Manure Management Initiative was established as a government and industry partnership in 1998 to address environmental concerns related to intensive livestock  production by helping fund research.

It's mandate is to foster sustainable development of the livestock industry in an environmentally sound and community friendly manner, through the funding of research, development, and demonstration projects related to the production, storage of and use of livestock manure.

Since its inception, the initiative has funded almost 60 projects.

MLMMI executive director Brandy Street notes livestock manure will vary according to such factors as solid-liquid content and nutrient content so research needs will vary from commodity group to commodity group.

Clip-Brandy Street-Manitoba Livestock Manure Management Initiative 

The MLMMI is now in the process of sending out invitations to have a representative from each commodity group sit on our board and, from that point, each group's representative can provide the board with more information as to what research they find of importance.

Because you have cattle out on fields and different types of manure management systems in place in poultry barns than you do in hog barns you get different types of systems to work with.

Although other groups share some common manure management problems with the hog industry, which is where our focus have been recently, their input on the board will allow the MLMMI to more specifically cater to each individual groups needs and from there we can proceed to fund more projects in those areas.

Street says the hope is to expand representation on the initiative's board of directors by the end of the year.

Additional information on the initiative and the types of projects that are eligible for funding can be accessed at www.manure.mb.ca.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council