have yall ever thinking about self on-farm composting

[Andy]

As fertilizer price going up, on-farm composting maybe an option.

manure spreading trailer + a windrow turner + a front loader bucket may get the job done, and we can even sell some of compost.

I believe it is a good idea, but really need some expertise...

 

[Son of Butch]

It's been done for over 100 years in Mn. Stacking manure outside from dairy barns and other barns in the winter and spreading it in the spring.

 

[shaz]

Absolutely, Thought about getting a 3pt hitch wood chipper since I'm always cutting firewood and need something more productive to do with the limbs than burn them.

Presently I'm piling up wasted hay and letting it break down.

The real problem is that I don't understand the biology well enough to know if I'm having much success.

 

[sstterry]

I don't know much about composting, but spreading manure on the fields acts as a much better fertilizer than chemical fertilizers.

 

[Stickney94]

Here's an article that probably all of us should read if interested in composting livestock manure:

Composting Animal Manures: A guide to the process and management of animal manure compost

www.ndsu.edu

 

[Andy]

Absolutely, Thought about getting a 3pt hitch wood chipper since I'm always cutting firewood and need something more productive to do with the limbs than burn them.

Presently I'm piling up wasted hay and letting it break down.

The real problem is that I don't understand the biology well enough to know if I'm having much success.

that's what I mean, there is a technology threshold to get high quality compost

 

[shaz]

that's what I mean, there is a technology threshold to get high quality compost

My redneck understanding is that we need to create a compost that is more fungal and this seems to be a by product of woody inputs. Dr Elaine Ingham is an authority and has a lot of videos that I don't understand.

 

[Andy]

My redneck understanding is that we need to create a compost that is more fungal and this seems to be a by product of woody inputs. Dr Elaine Ingham is an authority and has a lot of videos that I don't understand.

Will check if she has channel on Youtube.

 

[Dave]

If you have manure why compost it? The process of making compost you will lose a significant portion of the nitrogen. Just spread the manure on the ground. Twenty plus years of working for a conservation district I know a lot about making compost. Keeping the proper moisture, turning to keep it aerated, the C to N ratio. If you are selling it to gardeners it has a place. But if you are spreading it on your own pastures or hay fields it is a waste of time, fuel, and money to lose a portion of your needed nutrients. The few benefits don't come close to out weighing the cost.

 

[sim.-ang.king]

No need for anything other than biomass, and a loader. Turners will speed composting up, but will cost money. Pile it in the spring as soon as you can, and spread it in the fall. Compost will also make a more consistent product when you spread it, which will lead to better even coverage.
Also in most states composting is a legal means of disposing of deads, so having a pile, and some wood chips to feed it, can save you a lot of time, and will put those deads to good use. Zero smell when composting deads if you keep them covered, so it doesn't attract scavengers.
You could just spread it as fresh manure, but you will lose P and K due to leaching, and even some of the N due to it's exposer to oxygen in the open air, unless you work the manure in, which would be the same as composting.
Big thing about composting is time, you don't have to spread it now, you can spread it later, and as a more consistent product.

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

I compost and spread 50-60 yds a year. You can see exactly where my wife drives the spreader. I keep it full she drives.

 

[Lucky]

Friend of mine compost all his left over hay and whatever manure is in the corrals. The dirt it makes is pretty amazing.

 

[Andy]

If you have manure why compost it? The process of making compost you will lose a significant portion of the nitrogen. Just spread the manure on the ground. Twenty plus years of working for a conservation district I know a lot about making compost. Keeping the proper moisture, turning to keep it aerated, the C to N ratio. If you are selling it to gardeners it has a place. But if you are spreading it on your own pastures or hay fields it is a waste of time, fuel, and money to lose a portion of your needed nutrients. The few benefits don't come close to out weighing the cost.

Agree, an exception may be compost bedded pack barn, which use compost as bedding, new manure as addtion to compost material.