Manure

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Jogeephus

Jogeephus

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Been slinging cow manure all day and was wondering if anyone knows roughly what the nutritional content of cow manure has so I can estimate how much to drop my conventional fertilizer rate back. I put roughly 2 tons/acre. I'm figuring this as dry weight based on the scoop size but the manure probably had 50% moisture so I probably put 3 tons of actual weight. I'm don't know if I actually accomplished anything but the field (and I) sure smells like I did something. :oops:
 
That Black Cow brand of composted manure you can buy by the bag at the store says 0.5-0.5-0.5 on the label. I'd say uyou accomplished a lot. Wish I had 2 tons spread on my fields. Where'd you get it?
 
A friend of mine gave me a big pile of it from his dairy. I figured it might help offset some of my fertilizer cost especially since I don't have to move it but 2 miles. But after looking at the analysis on net it doesn't seem to have much in NPK in it. I did read where this was misleading and that the benefits are greater than what the analysis indicates. I'm just trying to get an idea on what it will do for the hayfield. According to my friend, he says the wet manure has a lot of N in it from urine and such. Sure was salty. :oops: He said I'd be surprised at what it will do. Just wondering cause those numbers don't look too good to me.(Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining only wondering)
 
ga. prime":3lm7udk0 said:
That Black Cow brand of composted manure you can buy by the bag at the store says 0.5-0.5-0.5 on the label. I'd say uyou accomplished a lot. Wish I had 2 tons spread on my fields. Where'd you get it?
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Let me throw this out and see how it smells. :roll: I would believe that cow manure, like Jogeepus slung out, would have a higher analysis than .5-.5-.5. I would guess that in the Black Cow and other composted manure products, the term composted means that the manure has been mixed with other matter (sand, sawdust, treebark, etc.) and is not just manure in a bag. This would dilute the analysis, just how much I don't have a guess. I would think that cow manure analysis would look much like a poulry litter analysis, at least on the nitrogen side. Just look at the green polka dots in the pastures.
 
I spent a lot of time googling last night trying to find something concrete and simple on the manure. Unfortunately I don't think there is anything concrete about its analysis however I did learn that "cow manure" is a buzz word in the organic gardening culture and many of these people are veggies. I strayed off the path and went to some these boards and learned these people had some strange ideas about stuff. Finally I gave up using the net for this subject. Did find a general rule in a book that stated in general a ton of manure is equivalent to 100lbs of 12 - 3 - 6 from an analysis standpoint. It further stated other benefits associated with its use were extremely positive. So I guess I did accomplish something but looks like I will still need to spread some conventional fertilizer.

Edit: Well its off to the shlt slinging party! Gotta sling shlt while the pile is high. ;-)
 
When cow manure is piled or stored it will lose nutrients, still a good soil builder. The wet stuff with the urine in it is a great source of N. I spread it on corn ground and on pasture. On the corn I cut back about half on the starter fertilizer. On the pasture I put on a heavy dose probably 4-5 tons per acre wet. Run over it lightly with a digger. Really livens up the pasture. :nod:
 
jog the best thing todo is to put 25 tons of manure pre ac.an go as far as the manure will go.that way you dont have to buy fert for those acs this year.
 
The best information on manure is to take random samples and send to a testing lab to find out the macro and micro nutrients. Elimates guessing and mis-information. One lab we use for our testing is SDK Labs in Hutchinson, KS. They have an extensive analysis protocol for all types of samples submitted. Not very expensive on top of that.

At our place, we leave the manure patties in the pasture until they have pretty good coverage. Then, we brush hog the pastures to spread the "manure" and knock down weeds. We haven't had to fertilize pastures in 5 or 6 years to date. All we need is to water the pastures (and irrigate) and pray for RAIN! Brushhogging the pastures also breaks up the patties and helps disrupt fly larvae in the patties.
 
Running Arrow Bill":2xafzpes said:
The best information on manure is to take random samples and send to a testing lab to find out the macro and micro nutrients. Elimates guessing and mis-information. One lab we use for our testing is SDK Labs in Hutchinson, KS. They have an extensive analysis protocol for all types of samples submitted. Not very expensive on top of that.

At our place, we leave the manure patties in the pasture until they have pretty good coverage. Then, we brush hog the pastures to spread the "manure" and knock down weeds. We haven't had to fertilize pastures in 5 or 6 years to date. All we need is to water the pastures (and irrigate) and pray for RAIN! Brushhogging the pastures also breaks up the patties and helps disrupt fly larvae in the patties.
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Good post RAB, I agree 100%. Manure just ain't shlt anymore!

I composted last years and have 2 barns full and a feedyard full to process. Given potash and urea prices right now every input counts. ( I am doubting there is much N in the composted stuff ).

The one thing that is holding me in livestock as a mainstay right now is the benefit of manure. Gotta put a pencil to it after I get all my shlt together and sampled.
Some of the dairy guys around here are laughing at the cash croppers complaining about inputs, when all they have ever used is manure and some N in corn.

I use chain harrows on the patures, probably much the same effect.
 
Just for shlts and giggles, I put 8500 lbs of wet manure on a 30 x 60 tomato patch behind the house. If my math is right, that is 102 tons/acre.(Yeah, them organic folks influenced me last night) I then got got to thinking about how pretty and green Tncattle's yard looked in his post so I put about three tons/acre on the yard! I'm in deep shlt now though cause Sweetcheeks came home and saw the Pompeiian tomatoes and squash and the Shiitake Weeping Peach Tree and she just kinda looked at me with that look. She then reminded me that we are celebrating my daughter's birthday at the house this Saturday and Lil'Sweetcheeks is expecting a crowd. I reckon I'll be giving out fly swatters and nose plugs as party favors. :oops: Oh, I don't think I'll be getting any kitchen passes anytime soon until the yard and garden are restored to the pre-eruption condition. I tried to explain it was Tncattle's fault but she didn't buy it. ;-) :lol:
 
I guess tug of war at the mater patch is out of the question. :lol2:
How bout that weeping peach! Those squash WERE knee high. :oops:

IMG_2334.jpg
 
Jogee, if I did that to my yard (especially with a party coming up), I'd have worse problems than no kitchen pass. You are a brave man, my friend. Let us know how that turns out for you! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Jogee, I think you might need to get your dog to teach you how to make a nice comfy hole to bed down in. I think you might gona need one. :P
 
http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/waste/ae1187w.htm
There is an appreciable amount of NPK in manure. However, you must remember that all the nitrogen is not available immediately. If I remember right it is released over roughly a 3 year period with half of it being available the first year. I look beyond just the primary nutrients that manure adds to the soil. It also contains micronutrients and lots of organic matter. As was said it is a fantastic soil builder.
 
Thanks for the link Novaman. From my reading, it seems the handling of the manure has a lot to do with the numbers. My friend told me that it would add a lot of body to the grass like chicken litter does. Our soils are highly weathered sandy loams and I can use all the organic matter I can to build it up. My hope is to increase the organic matter in the soil so that the soil will be more fertile and have better water retention. These droughts are hurting me.
 
mnmtranching":j0j2h9kd said:
On the pasture I put on a heavy dose probably 4-5 tons per acre wet. Run over it lightly with a digger. Really livens up the pasture. :nod:
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What does lightly mean?
Any reason not to use a drag or a harrow instead of a digger?
 
I applied turkey litter to grass pasture until they started to burn it :frowns:
Now I buy in a lot of hay and clover seed. Before fertilizer prices went wild, the rule of thumb was that there is $5 of NPK in a round bale.
I have two pastures that are across a creek so they have not gotten any reprocessed round bale **** They look sick and pale this spring compared to the other pastures.
 

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