(Continued from Pago A 24)
Through the existing Global
Positioning System (GPS), a satel
lite dish could be mounted on the
top of a tractor and, perhaps in the
future, a producer could drive
down the field, mapping many
aspects of the field, such as mois
ture, nutrient values, slope, etc.
Overall, Roth said that manage
ment can be expected to increase in
efficiency simply because of hav
ing good information by which to
make decisions.
“I see a lot of potential for a lot
of technology on the shelf that’s
not being adapted.”
On another subject. Dr. Doug
Beegle said that most farmers cur
rendy have a nutrient management
plan, though it may be in their
head. He said that most people
who may be affected by a proposed
nutrient management law would
simply have to write down their
current practices.
He said that currently most pro
ducers consider a number of
aspects about spreading manure
and applying nutrients which fol
low what is being asked for proper
management.
According to Beegte, most pro
ducers already consider, for each
Held, the source of the nutrients,
the application rate, the time of
application, the method of incor
poration, additional fertilizer
applications, and any special field
considerations, such as proximity
to waterways.
“Everyone managing manure is
already making those decisions,"
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Beegle said. "‘For a lot of you it
may mean just writing it down.”
However, Beegle said that pro
ducers should also look hard at the
quantity of manure, its nutrient
value, and any additional sources.
To determine quantity, he said
those with a manure pit can have a
good idea of what is available, but
they should understand that what is
in the pit isn’t all the manure being
produced on the farm.
According to Beegle, one cow
produces about 20 tons of manure
per year.
Using that figure (which is
included in a table in the Penn
State University Agronomy
Guide, available through exten
sion offices), he showed calcula
tions which projected a model for a
100-cow dairy operation.
According to Beegle, the herd
would produce 1,945 tons of man
ure per year, 1,225 tons of manure
is collected, 720 tons is uncol
lected. The uncollected manure is
that which is deposited by cows on
pasture or dry lots (Which are nof-’
mally located close to waterways,
and which should be of concern to
livestock producers, he said.).
He based his figures on
185-days of 24-hour confinement
(manure being captured), and
180-days of 6-hour-per-day
confinement.
He said that while the manure
produced is 1,945 tons, only 1,225
tons can be spread on crop fields.
Next is to determine the nutrient
quality of the manure, which can
also be done very roughly through
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the use of a table within the Agro
nomy Guide, but which must be
done through a manure analysis to
approach any kind of reliability.
He said that values for nutrients
for different manures vary.
Also, within each manure type,
there is additional variance in the
chemical form each nutrient. This
variance in chemical form means a
variance in availability of a specif--'
ic nutrient to a specific crop.
For example, nitrogen can be in
manure in several forms urea,
protein, etc. and each form has
different solubility and volatility.
It all means that the plant can use
some forms of nitrogen in manure
immediately, and some forms
throughout the season.
Some forms may not be avail
able to a plant for much longer per
iods, depending on environmental
conditions.
All this means that there is a var
iance between the manure test
readings and how much of that a
particular crop can use.
According to Beegle, potash can
be treated on a pound-per-pound
basis compared to manure analys
is. Phosphorus can also be treated
that way, except when used as a
starter.
Nitrogen is more volatile. Bee
gle said that SO percent of the test
amount of nitrogen is available if it
is spread and incorporated the
same day.
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If seven days go by before incor
poration, the loss of crop-available
nitrogen from cow manure dimi
nishes rapidly.
Because of the different forms
of nutrients and because they can
bind with other soil components or
become otherwise physically
trapped, there is the residual effect
to all nutrients.
Beegle said that if a field gets
manure spread on it frequently
about eight out of 10 years the
amount of nitrogen buildup in the
soil is roughly estimated to be 25
percent of what has been applied
annually.
Field information is also integ
ral to good nutrient management,
Beegle said.
He recommended having
recorded a crop plan, crop history,
crop rotation, soil limitations (such
as slopes, etc.), and the soil nutri
ent base level.
From this, he suggested priori
tizing fields for manure applica
tions by catagories: by crop, going
from those requiring nitrogen to
those not requiring nitrogen; by
nitrogen requirements, going from
high levels to low levels (accord
ing to soil tests); by phosphorus
and potash tests, going from those
with low amounts to high amounts
(it’s much easier to build up high
amounts of these nutrients); and by
soil limitations, going from those
with slopes or soil drainage which
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He said to also consider neigh
bors when prioritizing fields for
manure applications.
“Look as the whole farm and put
priorities of fields to get the best
return and the least amount of
potential problems,” he said.
By doing this, he said that high
priority fields for receiving man
ure may not necessarily be those
closest to the bam, which happens
sometimes with time and labor
constraints.
He said a simple formula to
determine the maximum applica
tion rate is to take the recom
mended amount of nutrient per
acre for crop and divide that by the
amount available in the manure.
As an example, Beegle said that,
if the recommendation is for 100
pounds per acre and the manure
provides 5 pounds per ton, then the
application rale of manure would
be for 20 tons per acre.
“It gives a ballpark amount, and
is perhaps a different rate on diffe
rent fields.”
Being able to manage this
way which has been suggested
for some years as a way to cut
down on overhead by reducing
purchases of unneeded commer
cial fertilizer also requires a
producer’s ability to calibrate his'
manure spread rate, he said.