Maryland's poultry compliance program is built on three layers: premises registration with the Department of Agriculture, a nutrient management program with plan and Annual Implementation Report duties, and a CAFO/MAFO discharge permit administered by the Department of the Environment that carries daily, weekly, and annual inspection requirements. For Delmarva operations and the integrators who work with them, Poultry Log's Maryland catalog records each requirement with its agency, authority, cadence, retention, and official source link.
Premises Registration
Under Md. Code, Agriculture Article, Section 3-804, a person who keeps poultry in Maryland must register each location with the Maryland Department of Agriculture's Animal Health program. The catalog records a narrow exemption: a premises with five or fewer birds kept for less than 120 days in a 12-month period may qualify only when no other poultry are present and birds are not moved, shown, or sold. Contract growers and certain registered layer flocks may already be registered through their company or an MDA program, which is worth confirming before filing a duplicate. Registration asks for caretaker identity and contact information, mailing and bird-location addresses, poultry types and counts, flock purpose and bird sources, and a completed-by name and date.
Nutrient Management: Plan and Annual Implementation Report
Under COMAR 15.20.07.03 and 15.20.07.06, an agricultural operation with at least $2,500 in gross annual farm income or at least eight animal units must follow a nutrient management plan and file the Department-required Annual Implementation Report. The catalog records the AIR as normally due March 1, subject to announced extension, filed with the Maryland Department of Agriculture Nutrient Management Program or through Maryland OneStop. Required fields include operator and operation identity, acreage and operation type, plan writer and plan dates, poultry and litter activity, manure imports and exports, nutrient applications by crop, and operator certification. Plans and implementation records are retained at least three years, with certain yield records covering five years.
The CAFO/MAFO Discharge Permit
Maryland General Discharge Permit 25AF, effective May 8, 2026 through May 7, 2031, requires every Maryland CAFO and MAFO to obtain discharge permit coverage. The catalog records that large AFOs meeting the permit thresholds are MAFOs even without a discharge, and that medium or small operations can require coverage based on discharge, animal contact with water, designation, or wastewater spray irrigation. The permit's operational record set is concrete: manure and litter transfers, land application events, mortality disposal, weekly waste-storage inspections, annual samples, annual equipment calibration, weekly stormwater inspections, daily waterline inspections, and the annual implementation report. Self-inspection and operational records stay onsite for five years.
Where Poultry Log Fits
Poultry Log's Maryland catalog carries these requirements with official source links and form templates, and the permit's daily and weekly record duties map directly onto the workspace's daily water line log, weekly manure storage and stormwater logs, transfer and land application logs, and calibration records. The daily water line duty is covered in the water line inspection records guide, the nutrient layer in the nutrient management plan records guide, and the federal layer in the US integrator compliance records guide. Confirm current requirements with MDA and MDE; completing a checklist does not certify legal compliance. Start free at poultrylog.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all Maryland poultry locations need to be registered?
Under Md. Code, Agriculture Article, Section 3-804, a person who keeps poultry in Maryland must register each location with the Maryland Department of Agriculture. A narrow exemption covers five or fewer birds kept less than 120 days in a 12-month period, only when no other poultry are present and birds are not moved, shown, or sold; contract growers may already be registered through their company.
What triggers Maryland nutrient management requirements?
An agricultural operation with at least $2,500 in gross annual farm income or at least eight animal units must follow a nutrient management plan and file the Annual Implementation Report under COMAR 15.20.07.03 and 15.20.07.06, with the AIR normally due March 1 and plans retained at least three years.
What records does the Maryland CAFO/MAFO permit require?
Under General Discharge Permit 25AF: manure and litter transfers, land application events, mortality disposal, weekly waste-storage inspections, annual samples, annual equipment calibration, weekly stormwater inspections, daily waterline inspections, and the annual implementation report, with self-inspection and operational records kept onsite five years.