Agency of Agriculture outlines farm permitting, nutrient-management rules to committee

Steve Collier, a representative of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, told a legislative committee that the state’s permitting system for large and medium farm operations centers on preventing discharges to surface water and groundwater, and on ensuring farms have the land base and storage to manage nutrients they produce and import.

The explanation came during a committee briefing in which Collier described who must follow the Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs), how large-farm operating permits (LFOs) and medium-farm permits (MFOs) are triggered, and how nutrient management plans (NMPs), storage capacity and inspections factor into permitting.

The topic matters because nutrient runoff and farm waste can affect both surface water and private groundwater supplies; Vermont’s rules apply to both, Collier said, unlike federal Clean Water Act rules that focus on waters of the United States. The permitting details determine which farms must secure permits before building barns or expanding animal numbers, and what documentation and infrastructure they must maintain to operate.

Collier said the state applies several permissive thresholds that can make a farm subject to RAPs: average annual agricultural product sales of $2,000, certain stock/acreage cutoffs and filing a Schedule F on tax returns. "If you were farming of any scope or size, you're subject to the Required Agricultural Practices in Vermont," Collier said. He noted the $2,000 sales line and the Schedule F filing are intentionally permissive and have prompted debate about where the right cutoff should be.

For large farms the state uses federal CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation) animal-number benchmarks to determine whether a farm is a large, medium or small operation. "If you are going to operate a large farm, you need to apply for a permit from us," Collier said. He added that a farm must obtain a permit before building a barn that would make it a large farm, and that permit review includes public notice and opportunity for comment for new construction and—often—expansions.

Collier said the agency evaluates several technical elements in permit reviews: the nutrient management plan prepared by a certified technical service provider, soil testing (including phosphorus and nitrogen), land-base calculations to ensure fields can assimilate applied nutrients, and sufficient waste storage. "You have to be able to store all of your waste for six months of a year," Collier said, describing the state's storage requirement tied to the winter-spreading ban.

He described the NMP as a complex, field-by-field plan that typically relies on USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and university standards. Collier said the agency expects annual reporting and conducts at least one inspection per year of large farms; the permit itself remains in effect indefinitely while a farm complies with reporting and inspection requirements.

Representative Nelson stressed sampling frequency for large-farm fields: "Fields for LFOs have to be sampled once every three years," Nelson said. Collier confirmed that technical service providers generally rotate field sampling on a three-year schedule and that the collected data feeds the NMP.

Collier also summarized how the agency treats medium farms: most currently operate under a general permit; the agency can require an individual permit for an MFO that fails to comply with general-permit conditions.

On public involvement, Collier said notice and hearings are intended to inform neighbors and elicit concerns, and the agency may add conditions or use the hearing to educate. He cautioned that meeting administrative rules does not immunize a farm from litigation; a plaintiff can still seek fact-finding on alleged violations.

Committee members asked operational questions about leasing land for nutrient application, exporting and importing manure, and construction that changes housing or structures; Collier said leased land can count toward a farm’s land base for NMP purposes, exports must be approved and accounted for in plans, and building farm structures may require notice to the town and agency review depending on use and whether the structure increases permitted animal numbers.

The committee paused the briefing to take a short break before a tentatively scheduled next witness.