Educators from Cooperative Extension, a unit of Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, will provide training, beginning this month, for equine and other livestock farmers in the development of “Self-Certified Animal Waste Management Plans” as required by the state of New Jersey.

On February 9, the state approved an Animal Waste Management Rule, obliging all livestock owners to proactively address and manage non-point source pollution that could originate from livestock operations, including those housing horses, dairy cows, cattle, swine, goats, sheep, poultry, and all other domesticated species considered farm animals. The rule was written to prevent water and other environmental pollution, and it received extensive input from numerous state and federal agencies as well as the private sector.

All operations with eight or more “animal units” (one animal unit equals 1,000 pounds) and fewer than 300 animal units must develop a self-certified Animal Waste Management Plan over the next 18 to 36 months. The training classes led by Rutgers Cooperative Extension will assist farm owners and managers to develop and file these plans