Fair season can be, well....crappy

It’s that time of the year again. 4-H and FFA projects are in full swing for our local fairs. Most of our project animals are kept in one place, like a barn or pasture. Keeping our animals in a concentrated area, like a stall or paddock, can cause manure to pile up fast. Did you know that on average, a single market hog produces 11 pounds of manure per day?

Ashland Soil & Water Conservation District (Ashland SWCD) is here to help! Our equipment rental program has been updated and now has a manure spreader that is available for landowners to rent. Our manure spreader is ground driven and small enough to be pulled with a four-wheeler or side by side. The spreader is on a trailer for easy transport to and from rental locations. Rental for the spreader is $10 per day for landowners that live within the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) for those outside of the MWCD boundary it is $50 per day.

When manure is applied to farm fields, we want those nutrients to stay in place on the fields. For that to happen, those applications need to take place when there is no large rain event in the future forecast. A loss of nutrients is bad for farmers when they are counting on those nutrients to help with the next growing season, but they are also very harmful to the environment and health of our waterways. Manure in the waterways is one of the most common impairments in Ashland County, and it can result in unhealthy waters and even fish kills.

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 we prevent runoff this summer?

Best Management Practices (BMP) are easy to follow and are beneficial for the landowner, applicator and the environment as well. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) developed what SWCD refers to as “Nutrient Management Code 590” this is a reference guide for the right rate, right source, right placement and right timing of manure being applied to farm ground.

Since many of these projects are short-term, manure can also be stockpiled, and applied at once. Stockpiling of manure can be a relatively environmentally safe method of temporarily storing manure. This practice can be utilized when field and/or soil conditions are not suitable for spreading, like when there is forecasted rain. This practice is not a substitute for adequate manure storage. It is intended for short term storage (8 months or less) of solid manure in the field in which it will be applied. Solid manure is defined as dry poultry manure or manure having a minimum of 20% solid content.

Here are some helpful tips for stockpiling manure. Locate manure stockpiles in or near the field in which the manure is to be applied. The volume of manure should approximately equal the

amount that will be applied to the field at agronomic rates. Locate stockpiles a minimum of 75 feet away from overhead or buried utilities whenever possible. If it is known that manure will be stockpiled more than 4 months, consider planting a 100 foot temporary buffer around the stockpile such as bin oats to intercept leachate and recycle nutrients. Once a manure stockpile has been removed for field application, consider planting a vegetative cover on the site to recycle the nutrients if site conditions allow (non cropland areas). Consider not using the same site again to stockpile manure for at least one full growing season (cropland areas). Consider covering the manure stockpile or installing a permanent stockpile location with leachate/runoff containment.

Stockpiles should be inspected after significant rain events (1/2 inch or more) for leachate ponding or runoff. Take corrective action if needed. If manure is stockpiled for more than
one week, monitor flies, beetles, & other pests. Possible remedies include chemical treatment
of manure or covering the stockpile for thermal treatment. Another great way to minimize risk is to keep buffer areas between ponds, ditches, roads, waterways, etc.

Ashland SWCD has great resources and guidelines to more best management practices for spreading manure. We also offer manure and soil tests! If you are interested in more information please reach out to us at 419-281-7645.