Manure management systems

[paulrollings]

Sorry! I am a student at Royal Agriculture University, I am deeply grateful for your time and expertise. I am currently working on a project exploring different composting systems for dairy farm waste and was hoping to seek your advice. This is my attempt at a high-level map of manure management systems for dairy farms. Are there any errors or omissions?

 

[sjt01]

Your first premise is wrong. Dairy manures are not a waste, but a valuable resource. There is valuable nitrogen potassium and phosphate fertiliser, as well as many trace elements vital for crop growth.
It is not until you appreciate the value of manures that you are likely to make good use of them.

 

[Boysground]

@sjt01 is exactly right. I would add in the type of bed and also bedding material. With sand in very big letters, and the pros and cons of it.

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[Horn&corn]

Impossible to collect manure without some bedding material. Need to factor this in as determines rest of process

 

[paulrollings]

@sjt01 Thank you. 100% agree with you, especially after I've spent many hours in the lab testing slurry samples, so I do realise the value. But thank you for your reply

@Boysground and @Horn&corn, Thank you also; yes, I hadn't included straw and sand bedding in the process. That's a good shout. (We are testing two different types of composting methods for the slurry, traditional vs. Bokashi, so considering the addition of materials such as bedding straw and woodchips to balance C:N ratios and nutrient profile). Thanks for the reply, much appreciated


Please excuse my naivety. As I map out all the different components for managing manure, including the cost of equipment, labour, and compliance with emissions requirements, it becomes clear that this all comes with a substantial overhead. I'm curious to know if farmers see slurry now more as a waste problem that needs to be managed or as a valuable resource, considering the potential savings on fertiliser costs.

 

[Boysground]

on a farm basis rather than experiment you will have no choice but to account for whatever bedding is used. I doubt you will want to add anything more. Certainly that would add cost to whatever you are doing.

Most farmers will always see manure/slurry as a valuable fertiliser. There is always the exception but you should be starting with a positive point of view.

Going into the future we will come up against many more constraints regarding slurry so anything you can come up with may be useful one day. Keep it simple and relatively cheap.

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[BeReyt]

Waste vs valuable resource would depend on how many spreadable acres the farm has compared to cow numbers and/or if there is adequate storage.
That being said slurry (or some variation of organic fertiliser) is one of the most valuable assets any farm has.

 

[Horn&corn]

We’re organic so slurry vital for us.
I’m 20 miles from RAU if you want to chat or visit. 250 cows. Lots of sand laden slurry

 

[frederick]

Slurry is waste. Because the cost of storing and disposing of it is greater than its nutritional value. If you could wave a magic wand and dispose of it for free and buy in the nutrients it would be cheaper. But because we have to store it and spread it the best we can use it's nutrients the less the cost of disposal is.
Even when Nitrogen was ridiculous money it was still cheaper on paper to buy the nutrients than spread it on my away maize ground.

 

[Dead Rabbits]

Slurry is waste. Because the cost of storing and disposing of it is greater than its nutritional value. If you could wave a magic wand and dispose of it for free and buy in the nutrients it would be cheaper. But because we have to store it and spread it the best we can use it's nutrients the less the cost of disposal is.
Even when Nitrogen was ridiculous money it was still cheaper on paper to buy the nutrients than spread it on my away maize ground.

Context dependent I’d say. I can’t make the cost of purchased P&K work out less than applied manure, but we don’t deal with the living nightmare that is putting liquid manure in a tanker.

It also doesn’t appear to be a 1:1 replacement between a unit of purchased and from manure. Crops just do not respond the same. Just my experience