Getting Handle On Manure, Looking A
Help Swine Grower Manage Nutri
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
MARIETTA (Lancaster Co.) Before the “big snow,”
Bob Hess recalls a regular plan, even during some mild
winters, of emptying the hog manure pit and spreading the
nutrients on the ground.
It was all done to “get a good handle on the manure level
in the pit,” Hess said.
But along came the “Blizzard of ’93,” which brought one
to three feet of snow in mid-March 1993 to areas of the
Northeast.
And Hess was stuck, unable to drain the pit. This caused
some real problems.
“The pit got full,” said Hess. “I vowed to never let it to
get that full again.”
So in 1994, Hess purchased a 5,000-gallon manure stor
age tank on a truck, allowing him to apply manure where
and when it was needed.
But to get a handle on compaction, he switched to a pull
type tank.
Hess worked closely with the Lancaster County Conser
vation District to improve soil and water retention through
a system of field contours at the farm. This was 1997 the
same year he worked with a local commercial crops consult
ing firm to develop a nutrient management plan.
Hess raises about 5,200 hogs under contract for Hershey
Ag. Using the truck has proved beneficial, and Hess can fi
nally get a handle on swine manure.
Hess operates a wean-to-finish farm on an all-in, all-out
basis. The hogs are weaned at 12 pounds and are finished at
the Marietta-based farm at 250-270 pounds each.
Hess, who obtains hogs selected by Hershey, are fed with
autofeeding system. They get the feed in the amounts they
want, when they want it.
The whole barn is totally concrete slatted, with a six-foot
deep pit underneath the slats.
Because air quality is very important for the pigs, fans
pull gasses out of the pit and also help to reduce odors in the
bam.
Hess never agitates the pits, so adding bacteria is a
“must,” he noted, and is a big part ot odor reduction. This
keeps manure consistent, so it can be pumped and spread.
Hess farms about 350 acres, included rented ground.
About 8,000 gallons of swine slurry are applied to corn
ground, about 5,000 gallons to the soybeans, and about
3,000- 5,000 gallons per acre to wheat. The barley gets no
swine manure.
Steer manure is applied to ground where com was
chopped for silage. Rye is no-tilled at a one bushel per acre
rate for a cover crop.
Hess has tested the manure for nitrogen values. It tests at
5.9 percent N (59 units per 1,000).
He soil tests every year. All nutrient applications are
made to test recommendations.
Hess manages 160 acres of corn, 140 acres of soybeans, 40
acres of wheat, and 10 acres of barley.
At one time Hess, in partnership with his cousin Joe Hess,
produced tomatoes, but abandoned the project because of
an insufficient water supply for irrigation. Though at one
Marietta swine farmer Bob Hess noted that with
the purchase of a tank spreader, he can get a
better handle on pit manure and soil
compaction. Photo by Andy Andrews
time Hess managed about 60 acres in tomatoes, he never
stopped considering ways to diversify.
He has expanded his farm operation to include steers.
Hess finishes ISO-170 head of lightweight feeder cattle for
cousin Dwight Hess, also of Marietta.
With the depressed market price outlook for grain, Hess
built a feed room with a TMR mixer and updated the barn
on his parents’ farm, Andrew and Dorothy Hess. Bob noted
that feeding corn to cattle was better than simply cash
cropping the grain.
Proactive Solution
(Continued from Pago 20)
According to Steve, it’s the farmer’s responsibility to
manage their manure and avoid violations. With nitrogen
based planning, Steve believes that animal agriculture took
a proactive approach to the problem.
“It doesn’t matter how many people are to blame, “ said
Steve. “If you’re part of the problem, you need to take your
share of the blame and not point the finger. Animal agricul
ture did that with nitrogen-based planning.”
Steve hopes that the industry will do the same with phos
phorus-based planning.
“Right now, on a nitrogen-based plan, we can utilize four
times as much manure on our ground than I am told we
could on a phosphorus-based plan.”
In Steve’s opinion, different feeding strategies and cropp
ing patterns could be the solution to managing phosphorus.
“Most dairy farmers have the goal to increase cow num
bers, and as we increase cow numbers, we have to make sure
we’re in compliance,” said Steve. “A phosphorus-based
plan could make it very difficult.”
“I just hope the industry comes up with a proactive solu
tion before we have to be reactive.”
t N Tests,
ents