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CONTACT: Rick Jones, Engineered Storage Products Company, Inc., 815-756-1551, rljones@engstorage.com; or, Jon Anderson, OPEN ROADS, janderson@openroads-bgdn.com, 414-227-1000 ext. 4.
HOW TO GET MAXIMUM VALUE WHEN MARKETING MANURE
VALUE OF DAIRY MANURE HAS GROWN ALONG WITH FERTILIZER COSTS
MADISON, Wisconsin World Dairy Expo (October 2, 2009) – Dairy manure is an increasingly valuable resource whose economic worth has risen along with the price of alternative fertilizer sources, according to Paul T. Kivlin, Nutrient Management Specialist with the University of Wisconsin-Extension.
Kivlin spoke at a breakfast meeting at the 2008 World Dairy Expo sponsored by Engineered Storage Products Company, manufacturer of Slurrystore systems for manure storage and management. Kivlin emphasized that dairy producers with manure to sell should calculate its true value and transportation costs before negotiating a sale.
“Manure management is not new,” said Kivlin. “But the meaning of manure has changed. Where once it was valued as a fertilizer, it is now often viewed more as a byproduct of dairy production and an environmental contaminant. In truth, manure is not a liability, it is an asset.
“The value of the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in dairy manure has increased 150, 170 and 240 percent between 2006 and 2008. Nitrogen alone has risen from $.40 to $1.00 per pound.”
Kivlin suggests that dairy producers with excess manure consider marketing it to their neighbors, setting a price based upon book value and a laboratory analysis that focuses on its N-P-K content.
“With today’s large herds, many dairies have more manure than they can utilize on their own land,” Kivlin said. “This opens the door for dairy producers to sell it to their neighbors as a valuable fertilizer and add to their on-farm income.”
HIGHER VALUE MAKES MANURE ECONOMICAL TO HAUL
In the past, transportation costs have held dairy producers back from marketing their manure, as the cost of transportation would exceed the value of the manure. As environmental regulations have tightened, especially regarding phosphorus, some dairy producers have been forced to haul excessive manure to neighboring sites at a loss. But with rising fertilizer prices, manure’s higher value has made it possible to now cover short-distance transportation costs, in spite of rising fuel prices. The cost is often negotiated depending upon who’s doing the hauling, and how far, Kivlin added.
While it’s relatively easy to set a price based upon N-P-K, cash grain farmers may want all three nutrients while the livestock producer may want the nitrogen and potassium but not the phosphorus, for example. Value is also relative to the soil’s current nutrient levels. There may also be environmental and compaction issues affecting price and desirability for cash grain farmers. Often the seller assumes transportation costs for the first mile. On average, it’s economical to haul within a two to three mile radius of the seller’s farm, according to Kivlin’s data.
Producers do need to know the nutrient content of the manure being sold and the application rates, though, to treat manure as a fertilizer product, not a waste. Uniform application is also key.
LIQUID MANURE’S CONSISTENCY INCREASES VALUE
And, there are advantages to liquid versus solid manure, Kivlin reminded producers. First and foremost is uniform agitation from systems such as Slurrystore – manure that is not well agitated will result in a product with great variability. “Some pits get fantastic agitation, while other pits don’t,” Kivlin added, “so that causes a very variable product. That makes it difficult to know what rates of key nutrients are being applied.”
While there is great value in the N-P-K in manure, there are other benefits to manure such as sulfur, a number of micronutrients, organic matter and a general increase in soil tilth and earthworm populations, he added. “So we are probably undervaluing the value of manure applied to land.
“A big part of my job is to make farmers aware of the value of the manure product that they are dealing with.”
To determine book value, the University of Wisconsin reviews nutrient analyses from manure laboratory tests conducted throughout the Upper Midwest to arrive at average nutrient contents that can then used without actually testing each load. “Book value gets us into the general ballpark,” he added. “If I’m working with a liquid system, I’ll recommend that we get a laboratory analysis done because we see much more variability in liquid systems due to size of pit, amount of water in the pit, and the degree of agitation.
“I stress to producers that we wouldn’t put a commercial fertilizer down without knowing its nutrient content, yet many of us are applying manure without knowing its nutrient content. It is also important to have a well-calibrated spreader.”
MANURE KEEPS ON GIVING NUTRIENTS
Not all N-P-K nutrient value in manure is available the first year due a failure to break down quickly enough, he added. Book value takes these losses into account and reflects first year availability, Kivlin explained.
Many producers mistakenly feel that substantial losses occur in fall or winter-applied manure and that it isn’t worth anything come spring. In fact, soil microbes don’t go to work to break down manure if soil temperature is less than 50 degrees F., so nutrients in the manure will lay dormant during winter and early spring months until soil temperature rises. About 30 percent of the nutrient N value of manure that is not incorporated will be available in the spring, whereas 40 percent N will be available if it is incorporated within three days. An additional 10 percent N will break down and be available in the second year; 5 percent in the third year.
“Liquid manure knifed into the soil is worth substantially more than solid manure spread on top of the soil because so much more nutrient value is readily available to the crop,” Kivlin said. ”We can increase the nitrogen value by 40 percent.”
For liquid or stacked manure, get a laboratory analysis for nutrients as rainwater, milk house waste, stack age and structure and evaporation will introduce variability, Kivlin said. “And when calculating the N-P-K economic value of your daily-hauled manure, using book values may be your best bet – getting a uniform manure sample is often difficult and our book values will be very close.”
HOW MUCH IS YOUR MANURE WORTH?
For example, spreading 20 tons per acre of solid manure evenly with a calibrated spreader can result in $220 per acre of net nutrient value, Kivlin pointed out. Doubling that rate to 40 tons per acre would deliver $440 in net nutrient value; 60 tons per acre nets $660.
“Farmers are usually amazed at the high nutrient value of such a light application as 20 tons of manure spread per acre,” he observed.
Nutrient availability is temperature and moisture dependent. Manure applied in the fall retains a full nitrogen credit the following spring, he added.
“A cool spring may delay release of nitrogen and cause an early season nitrogen deficiency,” he warned. “But that’s an issue that can be managed.”
In summary, dairy producers can maximize the marketing of their manure if they:
- Do a laboratory analysis of nutrient content for the buyer
- Give the buyer an idea of the consistency of the product you’re selling
- Determine an accurate application rate
“Some dairy producers are afraid of manure because of the phosphorus in it and environmental regulations,” Kivlin concluded. “But this issue can usually be handled by having a nutrient management plan that takes phosphorus into consideration.
“Manure is another potential income stream for dairy producers if they market it the right way and treat it like any other fertilizer.”
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