Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Is cattle manure destined to be known as “brown gold” in the future? This may not be as crazy as it sounds, if one looks at current trends in fertilizer and gas prices.
Trevor Lennox is a Forage Industry Development Specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food.
“With fertilizer prices continuing to rise because of high gas prices, the value outlook for cattle manure looks more promising than ever,” Lennox says.
Bear in mind that the production of fertilizer—nitrogen fertilizer in particular—is very energy intensive, resulting in substantial costs for farmers planning for next year’s forage crop.
“It is plausible to expect large increases in the price of nitrogen for the 2006 growing season,” explains Lennox, “thus causing producers to reconsider how much nitrogen fertilizer they are planning on applying.”
As distressing as this may sound, it could contribute to a change of attitude in the population at large. Manure, which was viewed until now as a mostly unwanted by-product of the livestock industry, likely will be considered more of a resource waiting to be utilized from now on.
“Given that the cattle industry will continue to grow and develop in Saskatchewan, we need to continue to use manure and view it as a valuable resource,” Lennox says. “It is not as easy as it sounds, however. Cattle manure is an organic fertilizer, and not all of the nutrients are immediately available for crop uptake, making it a slow release fertilizer.”
During a project conducted in the Swift Current area with the Southwest Forage Association, non-composted cattle manure was applied to a forage stand in mid-May of 2001.
“The average nutrient values in a ton of manure were as follows: 24 lb. of organic nitrogen, with approximately one-quarter to one-half of the nitrogen available for crop uptake in the first year; 12 lb. of phosphate, with approximately one-half of the phosphate available for crop uptake in the first year; and 53 lb. of potassium, with approximately 95 per cent of it available for crop uptake in the first year.”
In addition, the manure supplied many other nutrients, such as sulphur, copper and zinc.
The treatment that gave the most improvement in productivity was a one-time manure application of 60 tons per acre in May of 2001, reveals Lennox.
“This high rate actually reduced the productivity slightly in the first year of treatment, due to some crop smothering. However, in 2002 and 2003, the high rate resulted in a doubling of productivity, when compared to areas where no manure was applied. Basically, this manure treatment acted like a rejuvenation treatment for the forage stand.”
From an environmental standpoint, it is advisable to wait a number of growing seasons after applying another high rate of manure, in order to avoid the build-up of phosphorus in the soil.
For more information, contact:
Trevor Lennox
Forage Industry Development Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
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