Purdue-based office spreads word on manure rules

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - A Purdue University-based state office is reaching out to Indiana's farmers to educate them about new restrictions on using manure to fertilize cropland.

The rules written by the Office of the Indiana State Chemist are designed to protect the environment and prevent fish kills by restricting where manure can be applied.

Office fertilizer administrator Matt Pearson has spent the past year traveling the state and explaining the rules to farmers. He tells the Journal & Courier that 15,000 private manure applicators and dealers most likely know about the new rules.

But Pearson says some 30,000 to 40,000 Indiana farmers may not know about the regulations, which include documenting the volume and location where manure is applied and applying it specific distances from wells and streams to prevent contamination.