Wisconsin Administrative Code › Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection › ATCP 20-54 - Agricultural Resource Management › Chapter ATCP 50 - Soil And Water Resource Management Program › Subchapter II - Soil and Water Conservation on Farms › Section ATCP 50.04 - Farm conservation practices

Current through June 24, 2024
Except as provided in s.
					 ATCP
					 50.08, a landowner engaged in agricultural practices
					 in this state shall implement the following conservation practices:
(1) NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION CONTROL. A
				  landowner shall implement conservation practices that achieve compliance with
				  DNR performance standards under ss.
				  NR
				  151.02 to
				  151.08,
				  in effect on June 1, 2018. A nutrient management plan developed in accordance
				  with sub. (3) may be used to demonstrate compliance with ss.
				  NR
				  151.04 and
				  151.075.
Note:
Landowners who claim farmland
					 preservation tax credits must comply with conservation standards as required
					 under s. 91.80, Stats.
(2) SOIL EROSION CONTROL. A landowner shall
				  manage all lands where crops or feed are grown, including pastures, so that
				  sheet, rill, and wind erosion rates on cropped and pastured soils do not exceed
				  T-value. Sheet and rill erosion may be calculated using the RUSLE 2 equation or
				  equivalent. Wind erosion may be calculated using the NRCS Wind Erosion
				  Prediction System (WEPS).
Note:
Copies of RUSLE 2 and the NRCS WEPS
					 model are on file with the department and the legislative reference bureau.
					 Copies of both models may also be obtained from the NRCS website at:
http://www.wi.nrcs.usda.gov/technical
.
(3) NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT PLAN.
(a) A landowner shall have and follow an
				  annual nutrient management plan when applying nutrients to any field, including
				  pastures. A nutrient management plan shall comply with this
				  subsection.
(b) The plan shall
				  include every field on which nutrients are applied, including pastures, and
				  pastures stocked at an average rate of more than one animal unit per acre
				  during the grazing season. Pastures are not required to be included in the plan
				  if all of the following requirements are met:
1. The pastures are stocked at an average
				  stocking rate of one animal unit per acre or less at all times during the
				  grazing season.
2. The pastures do
				  not receive mechanical applications of nutrients.
Note:
The grazing season includes the months
					 of the year when pasture vegetation is actively growing.
(c) A nutrient management planner
				  qualified under s.
				  ATCP
				  50.48 shall prepare or approve the plan.
(d) The plan shall be based on soil nutrient
				  tests conducted at a laboratory certified under s.
				  ATCP
				  50.50 to conduct those tests. Soil tests are not
				  required on pastures that do not receive mechanical applications of nutrients
				  if either of the following applies:
1. The
				  pastures are stocked at an average stocking rate of one animal unit per acre or
				  less at all times during the grazing season.
2. The pastures are stocked at an average
				  stocking rate of more than one animal unit per acre during the grazing season,
				  and a nutrient management plan for the pastures complies with s.
				  NR 151.04
				  (2), using an assumed soil test phosphorus
				  level of 150 parts per million and organic matter content of
				  6%.
(de) A landowner may
				  be required to provide documentation to the county land conservation committee
				  that animal stocking rate and soil test values for pastures do not exceed the
				  levels in par. (b) 1. and (d) 2., respectively.
(dm) If the nutrient management plan uses
				  manure nutrient values, other than nutrient values of organic by-products
				  regulated under ch. NR 113, 204 or 214, the manure nutrient values shall be
				  based on one of the following:
1. Standard
				  values specified in Nutrient Application Guidelines for Field, Vegetable and
				  Fruit Crops, UWEX publication A2809 referenced in the NRCS conservation
				  practice standard 590.
Note:
The current 2012 version of UWEX pub.
					 A2809 and subsequent editions are available at:
https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/ATCP50.aspx
and are also on file with the department and the legislative fiscal
					 bureau.
2. Manure analyses
				  conducted at a laboratory that complies with s.
				  ATCP
				  50.50 (8).
(e) The plan shall comply with the NRCS
				  conservation practice standard 590 nutrient management (December, 2015) except
				  for sections IV. D., IV. E., and V., and shall also comply with the
Wisconsin Conservation Planning Technical Note WI-1
(February,
				  2016).
Note:
The NRCS conservation practice standard
					 590 (December, 2015) and the companion document Wisconsin Conservation Planning
					 Technical Note WI-1 (February, 2016) are on file with the department and the
					 legislative reference bureau. Copies are available from a county land
					 conservation department, a NRCS field office, the national NRCS website at:
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov
, the
					 Wisconsin NRCS website at:
www.wi.nrcs.usda.gov
, or the department
					 website at:
https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/ATCP50.aspx
.
					 Components of a nutrient management plan are summarized on a checklist. An
					 example nutrient management checklist is available at the department's website
					 at:
https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/ATCP50.aspx
.
(f) The plan may not recommend
				  nutrient applications that exceed the amounts required to achieve applicable
				  crop fertility levels recommended by the University of Wisconsin-Extension in
				  the 2012 edition of
Nutrient Application Guidelines for Field,
				  Vegetable and Fruit Crops
, UWEX publication A2809, or in the latest
				  edition of that publication if preferred by the landowner, unless the nutrient
				  management planner can show that one or more of the following circumstances
				  justifies the recommended application:
1. A
				  soil or tissue test reveals a specific nutrient deficiency. For supplemental
				  in-season nitrogen applications, a nutrient management planner shall follow
				  steps outlined in NRCS conservation practice standard 590 nutrient management
				  (December 2015).
Note:
Environmental conditions can make it
					 challenging to assess nutrient deficiencies. In-field scouting is strongly
					 recommended to verify the nutrient deficiency is not a result of pest or
					 disease pressure, and that an additional nutrient application will resolve the
					 observed deficiency.
2.
				  Excess nutrients are the result of an unforeseen change in the type of crop
				  planted.
3. Excess nutrients are
				  the result of manure applications made in the last year prior to the
				  implementation of the nutrient management plan.
4. Other special agronomic conditions
				  documented by the nutrient management planner. A nutrient management planner
				  who wishes to justify higher applications shall include credible information to
				  show that the higher applications will not materially increase environmental
				  damage.
Note:
The 2012 edition of the UWEX publication
					 A2809 is on file with the department and the legislative reference bureau. The
					 latest edition of A2809 is available from the UWEX website at:
http://learningstore.uwex.edu
.
					 Copies are also available from the department website at:
https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/ATCP50.aspx
.
(g) The plan shall be
				  consistent with any nutrient management plan required under ch. NR 113, 204, or
				  214 if the landowner applies septage, municipal sludge, industrial waste, or
				  industrial by-products to the land and in accordance with s.
				  ATCP
				  65.22 (6) (c). A landowner is not
				  required to have a nutrient management plan under this subsection if the
				  landowner applies primarily septage, municipal sludge, industrial waste, or
				  industrial byproducts according to ch. NR 113, 204, or 214.
(gm) A landowner or nutrient management
				  planner qualified under s.
				  ATCP
				  50.48 (2) shall annually review a
				  nutrient management plan to determine whether the plan accurately reflects the
				  planned cropping, tolerable soil loss, nutrient application rates, and
				  application methods. The plan shall be updated, by a nutrient management
				  planner qualified under s.
				  ATCP
				  50.48, when necessary to reflect changes in those
				  planned activities.
(i) A landowner
				  is rebuttably presumed to comply with this section if the landowner complies
				  with a nutrient management plan that is prepared or approved by a nutrient
				  management planner who is qualified under s.
				  ATCP
				  50.48.