If the early snow is causing cabin fever to set in already, there are several interesting conferences coming up over the next few months that will help take the edge off.

On Jan. 30, the Westmoreland County Conservation District will be hosting their annual Southwest Regional no till conference.

You can log onto wcdpa.com/event/2012-southwest-regional-no-till-conference to preview the agenda and register.

The event will be held at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe and will give local producers an opportunity to talk to local vendors and gather information on no-till and cover crops that are specific to their areas. These conferences are an excellent way to keep up on the ever changing no-till planting system and cover crop integration.

In March, Headwaters RC&D will host the Northwest PA grazing conference, and as the conference nears I will provide additional details.

Historically, this conference has been well received and hosts a well known grazing expert as well as breakout sessions on a variety of topics of interest to grazers of different backgrounds.

The Appalachian Grazing Conference in Morgantown, W.Va., will be held March 8 and 9 and features Dr. Gary Lacefield, Bob Hendershot speaking on stockpiling tall fescue and clover and Bill Tucker speaking on production genetics and marketing.

This is an excellent regional conference to attend and more information can be found at www.grazeappalachia.org.

With early onset of snow, producers who spread manure through the winter should be reminded of the winter manure spreading guidelines.

The current manure management manual and ACT 38 Nutrient management program defines winter manure application as the period from Dec. 15 through Feb. 28 anytime the ground is frozen at least 4 inches or anytime the ground is snow covered.

Manure must be spread on fields with a minimum of 25 percent cover, less than 15 percent in slope and more than 100 feet from a water source. For those who have an ACT 38 plan, there is some flexibility in these regulations that include less restrictive setbacks and increased application rates.

Regardless of the manure plan, manure can be infield stacked for up to 120 days on sites deemed acceptable.

A manure storage that handles several months of manure is the best option and allows producers to apply manure when conditions are more favorable.

At a minimum, a nutrient management plan should be developed by a certified planner to provide as much flexibility as possible when spreading and storing manure.

In addition, plans developed by those certified allow producers to be eligible for funding to implement the practices recommended in the plan like heavy use feeding areas and manure storages.

Producers are encouraged to contact our office for additional information on nutrient management plan development.

Andy Gaver is a conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Butler County.