To make the most of manure that is going to be used as fertilizer, analyzing the nutrient content first is a must. Collecting a representative sample is key to this process
“A farm should be built around the manure system,” is the advice dairyman Jim Winn would give to someone planning to build a new dairy. “It’s the most important part.”
Managing nutrients is more than having a Nutrient Management Plan in a binder on the shelf. Daily management of manure and proper land application at the right time and rate for each crop takes a team
I have developed countless manure management plans over the past 44 years. They all boil down to three basic principles: quantity, quality, and opportunity
Modern dairy production concentrates the number of animals housed in relatively small areas to improve production efficiencies, output per animal, and take advantage of economies of scale
Farm owners realize that responsible manure management is a requirement, not an option. High fertility fields — especially those that test high in phosphorus (P) — can be difficult to manage
As dairy farms grow in herd size, the amount of required bedding also goes up. Dairy farmers often use sand as bedding because of its availability, comfort, and effectiveness in maintaining herd udder
Biochar is a carbon-based product resulting from pyrolysis, where feedstocks (wood chips, corncobs, or even manure solids, for example) are heated without oxygen to high temperatures to produce oils
The author is the vice president of sustainability initiatives and outreach at Newtrient. The Newtrient Catalog provides a third-party perspective on many farm technologies and solutions.As companies and
Corn silage production offers a great opportunity to plant cover crops for erosion control and water quality benefits. In Northern climates, cover crops can be hard to establish following grain harvest
In their busiest seasons, professional manure applicators are constantly in a race against time to meet the needs of their clients. These farms depend on custom applicators to empty their manure
As farms look for ways to better utilize manure, companies have risen to the task of finding novel solutions. Adoption of these new technologies can be slow, though, often making the manure innovation
Sludge is a nutrient-rich by-product of manure storage and treatment. Sludge accumulates at the bottom of the lagoon as a result of two processes: the biological treatment by microbial communities and