Does Manure Treatment Affect Soil Nitrogen Availability?

Project Overview

LNC07-287
Project Type: Research and Education
Funds awarded in 2007: $76,034.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2009
Region: North Central
State: Wisconsin
Project Coordinator:
Christopher Baxter
Email
University of Wisconsin - Platteville

Annual Reports

Commodities

  • Animal Products: dairy

Practices

  • Soil Management: general soil management

    Abstract:

    No final report submitted to date.

    Project objectives:

    The primary outcomes of this project are:
    1) increasing awareness of farmers and agronomists on the effects that manure treatment can potentially have on nitrogen (N) availability,
    2) improving the precision of N-based manure recommendations based on laboratory analysis.

    Increased use of manure treatment such as anaerobic digestion, solid separation, and composting has added variation to this already highly variable material. Current University of Wisconsin recommendations for N availability of manure are based on total N analysis only, use the same availability factors for all dairy manures, and do not account for compositional changes in manure that occur during treatment processes. Farmers using manure treatment and operating under N-based nutrient management guidelines need better estimates of potential N availability from these materials to better manage for economic and environmental sustainability.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.