11.3: Manure

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Page ID: 35875

Valerie Dantoin
Northeastern Technical College

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Once cheap fertilizers became widely available after World War II, many farmers, Extension agents, and scientists looked down their noses at manure. People thought more about how to get rid of manure than how to put it to good use. In fact, some scientists tried to find out the absolute maximum amount of manure that could be applied to an acre without reducing crop yields. Some farmers who didn’t want to spread manure actually piled it next to a stream and hoped that next spring’s flood waters would wash it away. We now know that manure, like money, is better spread around than concentrated in a few places. The economic contribution of farm manures can be considerable. On a national basis, the manure from 100 million cattle, 120 million hogs, and 9 billion chickens contains about 23 million tons of nitrogen (and this doesn’t even include the manure from 324 million layers and 250 million turkeys). At a value of 50 cents per pound, that works out to about $25 billion for just the nitrogen contained in animal manures. The value of the nutrients in manure from a 100-cow dairy farm may exceed $20,000 per year; manure from a 100-sow farrow-to-finish operation is worth about $16,000; and manure from a 20,000 bird broiler operation is worth about $6,000. The benefits to soil organic matter buildup, such as enhanced soil structure, and better diversity and activity of soil organisms, may double the value of the manure. If you’re not getting the full fertility benefit from manures on your farm, you may be wasting money.

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 are influenced by soil type. In other words, it is impossible to give blanket recommendations for manure application. They need to be tailored for every situation. 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.

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