Spreading manure is becoming cost prohibitive for individual producers who don’t want to incur hefty fines for making mistakes since Iowa lawmakers passed legislation last year toughening environmental laws. Commercial manure haulers and businesses that will draw up manure management plans and take soil and manure samples, etc are now becoming lucrative businesses to be in. New legislation where producers can incur fines of $5,000 for each day of violation if their manure management plan is not updated annually has made these businesses vital for future production. Other regulations include, top-applied manure cannot be spread closer than 750 feet from a neighbor’s home and 200 feet from sink holes and drainage ditches. It is not only producers who are incurring some new costs but the haulers as well. They must be certified and pay $200 to attend a yearly refresher course on rules and regulations given by Iowa State University Extension. Even with these extra costs, there still are saving being seen. ISU Extension estimates that applying manure instead of commercial fertilizer to your crops still saves $50 to $60 per acre.