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How no-till and manure can work together Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Agri News staff writer
SHELDON, Iowa -- Greg Brenneman, an ISU extension Ag Engineer, spoke to producers about no-till and manure and how it all works together during the no-till conference in Sheldon.
"Farmers need to have the nitrogen available for the corn...particularly during the early portion of the growing season," said Brenneman. "Farmers of course can use anhydrous ammonia, but there is also another source that is also effective and that is manure."
Many farmers have known the benefits of utilizing manure for many years especially if it is available on their own operations. However, it can be a little harder to apply it when farmers are using the no till system.
"There is machinery that is available to apply manure on land that is utilizing the not till system," said Brenneman. "They usually contain a narrow knife and tube to minimize soil disturbance while getting manure applied to the soil, but they need to find what works best for their systems."
One thing farmers need to realize before they apply manure to their land is that every farm is different so the manure content is going to be different in all farms.
"I recommend that farmers test all of their pits individually to know what the contents are in the manure a few weeks before they are planning on applying to allow time to receive the results," said Brenneman.
When looking at liquid and solid manure, there are definitely differences. Solid manure tends to be more variable.
"The ammonia content is another important aspect...because that is what will be available to the crop during the first year," said Benneman. "Dairy and beef manure has 30-40 percent ammonia available, poultry manure has 65 percent and swine manure has almost 100 percent available for the first crop."
If farmers are applying manure and are planning on planting right over it, they need to apply it deep enough to avoid any fertilizer burn. |
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