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12.4: Types of Manure

  • Page ID
    25062
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    Animal manures can have very different properties, depending on the animal species, feed, bedding, handling and manure-storage practices. The amounts of nutrients in the manure that become available to crops also depend on what time of year the manure is applied and how quickly it is worked into the soil. In addition, the effects of manure on soil organic matter and plant growth is influenced by soil type. In other words, it’s impossible to give blanket recommendations for manure application. They need to be tailored for every situation. And although we are discussing manure as an important component of well-managed, integrated livestock-cropping systems, we will also examine the issues that occur with livestock farms that import a lot of feed and that have insufficient land to utilize all the manure produced in ecologically sound ways. We’ll start the discussion with dairy cow manure from confined spaces like barns and feedlots but will also offer information about the handling, characteristics and uses of other animal manures, as well as grazing systems.


    This page titled 12.4: Types of Manure is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Fred Magdoff & Harold van Es (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.