Nutrient Management Case Studies Prove Beneficial
Cher Brethour, Research Associate – Environmental Policy
George Morris Centre

Last summer the George Morris Centre was commissioned to conduct a study to estimate the cost of compliance of the Ontario Nutrient Management Regulations using a case study approach. OSMA was the first commodity organization to come on board for this exciting research endeavor, followed by a generous grant from GENCOR for the cattle and dairy industry. The hog, chicken and dairy organizations agreed to participate in the months following.

The purpose of this work was to develop a database of information on the costs of implementing the nutrient management regulations, and to identify the areas of the regulations where costs of compliance are material or require further analysis.

To determine the specific costs of complying with the regulations, a set of case studies were completed on participating farms to provide a more rigorous and thorough examination of anticipated site-specific costs.

For each OSMA case, on-farm interviews were conducted. Where site assessments were more complex, OMAF technical staff participated in the on-farm interviews. The site visits consisted of confirming information on the survey questionnaire, and assessing requirements for producer compliance with the regulations. In addition, the interviewers identified any contentious issues on the farm that may result in problems with compliance in the future.

Using the information collected from the survey interviews and the database of producer compliance costs, the compliance cost of the proposed regulations was estimated for each case. This process was a challenging one, as it was the first time the regulations had been implemented in real-life cases. This required extensive feedback from both OMAF and MOE staff for interpretation and clarification.

The preliminary results¹ presented in the table above illustrate the lowest compliance cost option for each of the cases (each case had more than one compliance option). Of the five completed cases, all of the operations were less than 300 NU and will not be required to comply with the regulations by July 2005. However, the costs identified (see table) assume that at some point all farms will be required to comply.

On average the estimated cost of compliance was between $3,000 and $16,000 per farm. However, it is important to recognize that many of these cases involved contentious issues that are being resolved by the Provincial Nutrient Management Advisory Committee (PNMAC) and could result in significantly higher compliance costs depending on the decisions made by the committee. For example, decisions have not been made regarding seasonal outdoor confinement areas and regulatory requirements for load bearing surfaces and runoff control. Having the results of these cases will help to identify the magnitude of costs associated with committee decisions, prior to them making a decision.

As a direct result of this case study assessment, numerous recommendations have been made to OMAF regarding the modification and/or clarification to the regulations. September 2004 will mark the conclusion of this research with a final report presentation and recommendations to the Provincial Nutrient Management Advisory Committee.

1   The case study results are subject to change and will be finalized in the    September 2004 final report for all livestock commodity organizations participating.