D3O-~Lancasterfarming, Saturday, March22,l9Bo
Manure management advantages
BY DICK ANGLESTEIN
LANCASTER Manure
was given many
designations, such as home
grown resource, valuable
farm product, important
plant nutrient and alternate
source vf energy, at the
Lancaster Dairy Manure
Management Seminar at the
Farm and Home Center on
Monday.
Avoiding the once com
mon-place term as an
agricultural waste, a suc
cession of speakers stressed
the values to be gained from
modern manure
management • both efficient
on-farm handling and ef
fective utilization.
The role of manure as a
plant nutrient was covered
by David Matthews, Agway
agronomist, who outlined
research conducted at the
Agway Farm Research
Center at Fabius, N. Y.
“Manure is not a waste,
but a resource containing
useable plant nutrients,”
Matthews said.
The research primarily
showed, according to
Matthews, that manure will
increase crop yields and
spring application and in
corporation is better than
use in the fall
In the corn silage research
project, three manure
management systems were
compared, including daily
spread, stored liquid and
stored semisolid.
The daily spread was
simulated by spreading one
load every two weeks from
October to April. The spring
applications of stored
manure were plowed im
mediately upon application.
The daily spread was plowed
in at the same time, too.
All research plots received
3,100 pounds of manure dry
matter per acre. Yields of 32
percent dry matter com
silage for the three manure
systems showed 14.3 tons per
acre for daily spread, 16.1
tons for the liquid manure
and 18.5 tons for the
semisolid.
The Agway study also
measured the amount of fuel
stressed in seminar, tours
required for the three
systems.
The fuel required per cow
per year to move manure
from the barn to field, a
round trip of one and one
half miles, included 5.5
gallons for daily spread, 4.6
gallons for liquid storage
and handling and 2.3 gallons
for semisolid storage and
handling.
The semisolid system used
significantly less fuel,
Matthews explained,
because of the higher
amounts of water being
hauled in the other systems.
“Where it fits into a farm
operation,’’ Matthews
concluded, “the semisolid
system has advantages over
the other systems in terms of
crop production and energy
expended.”
Scott Eberly, Soil Con
servationist, discussed the
construction of earthen
holding ponds.
He emphasized that a
major problem in the
Lancaster County area is the
small, congested farm
steads, resulting in location
near silos or houses.
Soils should be checked
prior to construction, he
explained. After con
struction, the pond should be
properly fenced for safety
purposes.
“If well designed and
properly constructed in
favorable soils,” Eberly
said, “these ponds do seal
and provide adequate
manure storage for periods
of four to six months. ”
Suggestions on the ap
plication of manure were
given by Ed Petrus, Soil
Conservationist. He urged
the formulation of a con
servation plan to list the
types of soils to determine
which fields can accept the
proper amounts of manure
to avoid runoff pollution
problems.
“The longer you wait to
incorporate manure into the
ground, the less value it will
have,” Petrus said.
Don’t overlook pastures,
he urged, giving them the
same consideration as
cropland in terms of needing
the nutrients in manure.
Ray Brubaker, of the
ASCS Office, discussed the
availability of cost-sharing
funds for die construction of
manure management
systems.
All current funds have
been expended, he said, but
it appears that cost-share
money may be available for
1981.
Farmers planning a
system for 1981 should
contact the ASCS Office late
this year to see if funds are
available. The cost-share
assistance can cover 40
percent of the cost, with a
$2,500 maximum grant.
The state guidelines of
Manure Management for
Environmental Protection
were explained by Roger
-Grout, Penn State
agricultural engineer.
He warned that too many
misuses, such as spreading
manure on snow or frozen
ground, could result in the
guidelines being taken away
and replaced by stricter
regulations.
A brief of some
manure management
systems in Lancaster County
was given by Glenn Shirk,
Extension daily agent
Covering a number of
component parts of various
systems, Shirk outlined
some important factors to be
considered.
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When building a ramp into
a holding pond, make certain
it is wide enough to handle a
front-end loader and permits
parking the spreader
sideways.
Jle stressed the im
portance of proper ven
tilation in barns to remove
the gases from underground
manure pits.
He also cited the
tremendous pressures that
can build up in underground
storage tank systems.
In addition to the
speakers, the day-long
seminar featured various
exhibits of manure handling
equipment and facilities. -
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