ARS | Publication request: EFFICIENCY OF MANURE RECOVERY AND LAND-SPREADING ON WISCONSIN DAIRY FARMS

Submitted to: American Society of Agronomy
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 3, 2003
Publication Date: November 3, 2003
Citation: Powell, J.M., Mccrory, D., Saam, H., Jackson-Smith, D.B. 2003. Efficiency of manure recovery and land-spreading on wisconsin dairy farms. In: American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting Abstracts, November 2-6, 2003, Denver, CO. 2003 CDROM.

Technical Abstract: A study of 54 Wisconsin dairy farms is expanding our understanding of the biophysical and socioeconomic obstacles farmers face in managing agricultural nutrients. Farms were randomly selected and equally distributed across three regions: R1, hilly, silty soils; R2, undulating, silt loam soils; R3, flat, sandy and loamy soils. Apparent manure collection (AMC) was calculated from the relative time (%) lactating and non-lactating cows and heifers spent in areas where manure was collected and not collected. This paper reports AMCs for lactating cows only. Of all R1 farms, 11% collect all manure, followed by R2 (56%) and R3 (42%). AMC for farms that partially collect manure were similar across regions with a range of 40 to 88, and a mean of 61% for R1; 44 to 84, and 59% for R2; and 45 to 88, and 63% for R3. Relationships between AMC (y) and the number of lactating cows (x) was y = 0.337x + 45.9, Rsq. = 0.15 for R1; y = 0.693x + 28.8, Rsq. = 0.42 for R2; and y = 0.581x + 32.9, Rsq.= 0.38 for R3 indicting that herd size may influence the amount of manure collected in R2 and R3 to a greater extent than in R1. Many farms appear to accumulate manure nutrients in small outside areas. These areas are often not considered in nutrient management plans but may receive considerably higher manure loading rates than cropland, which may have lower manure loading rates than previously thought.