ROBERT L. SEAY Benton County Daily Record

Posted on Sunday, March 5, 2006

URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/Agriculture/31943/

When it comes to topics like this, I have to force myself to think before opening my mouth; otherwise, I could find myself in the unemployment line on Monday morning.

Although farmers within the 15-county "Nutrient Surplus Area" refer to it by other names, Title 21 was passed during the last legislative session and became effective Jan. 1.

In general, Title 21 requires certification of anyone making nutrient applications, regardless of the source, which means all commercial fertilizer products, poultry and livestock manure, compost, etc.

Opportunities to attend certification classes in order to obtain the required license have not kept pace with the information grapevine. As you can imagine, a lot of P’s and Q’s were twisted, and these will take time to get unraveled. I’ll unravel one right now, which is that farmers who pay other individuals or businesses to apply fertilizer or litter are not required to have a license.

In the meantime, Paul Vaughn has graciously offered the use of the Benton County Sale Barn facility in Siloam Springs for conducting a "Nutrient Certification Class," which will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 14.

This session will be for private applicators only and will take about two hours. At the conclusion, producers will be provided a license application form, which, along with their $30 check, will be submitted to the Arkansas Natural Resource Commission. Those attending will become certified for five years, with hopes that things will improve before they hear about it again.

In the long run, farmers sincerely hope their efforts prove to be advantageous toward unifying agriculture and urban interests in regard to monitoring all sources of nutrients applied within our watershed areas.

So, put two items on your calendar: the Nutrient Certification Class in Siloam Springs on March 14; and the Benton County Conservation District Study Day beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Decatur Community Center this Tuesday, March 7.

Till next week. • • •

Robert L. Seay is a county extension agent with the University of Arkansas’ Cooperative Extension Services. Call him at (479) 271-1060 o e-mail rseay@uaex. edu.