Manure Injection Passes 'Smell Test' as Best Management Practice

For centuries across the Chesapeake Bay region, farmers have spread manure on their fields to boost crop growth and dispose of animal waste.

But stormwater runoff can send those manure-based nutrients into local streams and eventually the bay. Reducing runoff from farmland is one of the biggest challenges remaining in cleaning up the bay. (Editor's Note: Both Blair and Bedford counties are in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.)

Now, after decades of experimentation and false starts, injecting liquid manure into the ground, rather than on top of it, is gaining traction among mainstream farmers. The...