The good, the bad, and the smelly

Our office general receives a few complaints a year about the “fresh country air” or in other words, manure. Although sometimes not always the best smelling, manure holds HUGE value to not only our farming community but also to us as consumers.

When we think of manure as “waste,” many of manure’s benefits are overlooked. Manure can provide vital nutrients to farm fields without paying for other commercial fertilizers, and it is the ultimate recycler. But just like other fertilizers, manure can pose a runoff risk. So how do farmers minimize runoff risk this fall and winter?

When manure is applied to farm fields, we want those nutrients to stay in place and on the fields. For that to happen, those applications need to take place when the ground is not frozen and when it’s not covered in snow. Frozen ground won’t let the nutrients from the manure application penetrate into the soil. They just lie on top, like rain beading on an umbrella. You may think that those nutrients will be in place to soak in as the soil thaws, but that thaw is often accompanied by melting snow and spring rains that wash that manure and its nutrients right off the field

Not only is that loss of nutrients bad for the farmer’s bottom line (it’s literally flashing nutrients, which equals dollars, downstream), but it's also bad for the environment and the health of our waterways. Manure in waterways is one of the most common impairments in Ashland County, and it can result in algal blooms, unhealthy waters and even fish kills.

Click the image above to download a copy of our manure stockpiling BMPs.

Another great way to minimize risk is to keep buffer areas between ponds, ditches, roads, waterways, etc. Adding a grass buffer between these areas can also help significantly reduce risk to manure entering waters of the state. Fields with winter growing crops like hay fields and fields with cover crops are recommended to spread on, especially if you need to take an emergency application during the winter.

Ashland SWCD has great resource and guidelines to more best management practices for spreading manure. We also offer manure and soil test! If you are interested in more information please reach out to us at 419-281-7645 and ask for Erica White or Katie Eikleberry.