Todd Garrett
The nutrient content of manure can vary significantly within a storage structure, even after agitation.
PROCEED WITH CAUTION:
CONTENTS MAY VARY Sequential sampling of liquid manure pits ensures nutrients get to the fields that need them the most. by Ev Thomas
F
arm 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. A Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) may limit the amount of P added each year (as manure or commercial fertilizer) to not exceed annual crop removal. On many of these farms, as the size of the dairy or livestock enterprise grew, additional cropland had to be purchased or leased to meet the need for more forage. Some of 22 | Journal of Nutrient Management | November 2020
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these recently acquired fields are several miles or more from the farm (and from the manure storages). Because of prior management (or mismanagement), many of these recently acquired fields may be much lower in fertility than cropland on the “home farm.”
One farm’s story This was very similar to the situation we were facing at the William H. Miner Agricultural Research in Chazy, N.Y., as we entered the 21st century. Our dairy had been expanding in cow numbers, and we’d built a new liquid manure pit to jofnm.com
10/22/20 9:52 AM
