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Manure Application INTRODUCTION thought to be caused by germination moval per unit of yield for many damage and growth reductions due crops. Actual removal will be site Manure is a co-product of animal to high concentrations of ammonium specific and may be determined by agriculture. Depending on the point and soluble salts including sodium, a laboratory analysis of a represen- of view, it is either a resource for potassium, magnesium, calcium, tative sample of the plant material crop production or it is a waste prod- and chloride, which can limit water removed from the field. uct of the livestock enterprise. No uptake by the plants. matter what the point of view, it must NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY be removed to continue the livestock High salt level can also cause operation. Soils normally benefit injury to plant root hairs which will The nutrients contained in ani- from the application of organic ma- result in reduced nutrient and water mal manures, composts, or other or- terial and animal manure is an ex- uptake. Also, improper balance be- ganic materials are less readily avail- cellent source. This organic mate- tween sodium in relation to calcium able to plants than the nutrients of rial acts as a source of nutrients and and magnesium will cause soil ag- most inorganic fertilizers. The nutri- as a soil conditioner. Therefore, it gregates to break down or disperse. ent content of these materials is makes sense to use manure to re- The dispersed clay particles will highly variable (Table 2) and a labo- cycle nutrients and improve the soil. move down into the soil profile, ratory analysis should be used to de- blocking soil pores, reducing the rate termine the actual nutrient content It is difficult to place a dollar value of water infiltration. of manure materials. on the improvements in physical properties of the soil from the addi- NUTRIENT REQUIREMENTS NITROGEN: Manure would be clas- tion of manure, but the value can be sified as a slow release nitrogen fer- considerable when evaluated on a Before manure is applied,the nu- tilizer. Approximate manure nitrogen long term basis. trient requirement of the crop should availability percentages are listed in be determined. Soil testing is a reli- Table 3. They vary according to the The main value of manure is its able method to determine nutrient type of material, storage, and appli- supply of nitrogen, phosphorus, and levels in the soil. With this informa- cation method. When incorporated, potassium. Micronutrients will also tion, and knowledge of the nutrient most of the ammonium nitrogen is i be available, but the amounts will levels of the manure, economically available during the first year. Nitro- G vary greatly depending on type of and environmentally sound applica- gen availability percentages listed in livestock and their diet. tion rates for both manure and fertil- Table 3 are total N and account for izer can be determined. ammonium nitrogen content. The About half of the nitrogen is in figures in Table 3 are based on avail- the inorganic or ammonium form,the Manure application rates are ability of total N during the first year form that is immediately available for usually based on crop nitrogen re- following a spring application. plant intake. The inorganic forms of quirements. Manure application nitrogen are subject to being lost rates should never exceed the crop ORGANIC N (Total N minus ammo- through leaching out of the root zone nitrogen requirement. However, af- nium N, or assume 60 to 75 percent or volatilization into the atmosphere. ter long term application, the phos- of the Total N as organic) will supply Volatilization is minimized by injec- phorus level in the soil will probably nitrogen to the cropping system for tion or tillage into the soil. build up to a level that will prohibit several years. To estimate residual:} continued manure applications. All N use the availability factors listed , r Proper application rates and manure application sites should be in Table 4. methods must be utilized to ensure monitored with a soil testing pro- environmentally sound results and gram. To prevent the build up of soil PHOSPHORUS AND POTASSIUM cost effective application. Excessive phosphorus and potassium levels to About 70 percent of the total P ap- manure application rates or improper a very high range, it would be best plied in manure will become avail- application methods can result in to calculate a manure application able in the year of application. Of; r surface or ground water contamina- rate on basis of crop phosphorus or the total potassium, 100 percent will tion and reduced crop yields. potassium removal (do not exceed be available the year of application. crop N requirements). Table 1 pro- Much of the yield reduction is vides a list of estimated nutrient re-