Deanne Meyer wins high honor at World Ag Expo
Deanne Meyer has been one of the most important resources for dairy producers in their struggle to conform to environmental regulations, which has drastically changed how they can do business.
Meyer, a University of California, Davis, livestock waste management specialist, was chosen as Western DairyBusiness’ 2009 Outstanding Dairy Industry Educator/Researcher and received the honor at World Ag Expo in February.
The University of California hired her in 1992 and she soon discovered that her area of emphasis should be confined or concentrated animal facilities. Surface water discharged by production animal agriculture was resulting in fish kills, and undesirable contaminant additions into creeks, rivers and estuaries.
During the first year, she surveyed various regulatory agency enforcement staff to identify the issues and problems they faced with animal producers. Discharge of manure to surface waters was a common violation when inspections occurred after a citizen complaint. In 1997, Meyer developed the Environmental Stewardship Short Course I (ESSC 1) to address 19 of the top problems regulatory inspectors had with dairy operators. Everything in the course directly relates to collection, storage and management of manures to utilize nutrients at agronomic rates and to prevent surface water discharges.
Staff from many of the Regional Water Quality Boards have identified that the actions of dairy producers have improved significantly over the last eight years and they attribute this to the successful educational process.
The ESSC1 has been integrated into the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program (CDQAP) environmental stewardship module. As module coordinator, Meyer takes great interest in educational needs to achieve compliance.
Meyer has been honored for her work by her peers in California, the Agricultural Clientele, American Dairy Science Association, the U.S. EPA and the governor of California. “But these pale in comparison,” she says, “to a simple thank you from a producer when a question is finally answered in a way that they can comprehend the answer and its ramifications.”
