Promoting manure composting for livestock operations

View the project final report

Commodities

• Animal Products: manure, compost

Practices

• Animal Production: manure management
• Crop Production: nutrient management
• Education and Training: extension, workshop
• Soil Management: composting

This project, “Promoting manure composting for livestock operations,” will increase the understanding and prevalence of manure composting in the north-central region. It educates and demonstrates how to sustainably compost manure and the economic, environmental, and societal benefits of doing so. This program is open to anyone interested in learning more about composting, but the target audience is livestock producers with solid manure – such as beef, dairy, turkey, and horse – who are interested in composting.

Overall, this educational project will increase farmers’ awareness and knowledge of composting manure in the north central region, which will lead to increased adoption of the practice. Attendees of this program learn about composting manure through classroom activities and lectures, demonstrations and examples, and farmer testimonials. In the classroom, interactive lectures increase awareness of the immense value of composting manure, and the unique challenges and opportunities of composting manure in the north-central region. Attendees gain practical and applied understanding of the composting process from a panel of farmers who successfully compost manure. The demonstration portion of the program demonstrates the skills of day-to-day compost management and how to identify and correct problems within a compost pile. The articles, videos, and outreach generated from this program will spread this knowledge and information to the greater north-central region.

This project will educate more than 100 Minnesota and North Dakota livestock producers through one online workshop in year one, and two in-person workshops in year two on the sustainable processes and benefits of composting manure. Outcomes will include increased knowledge of how composting is sustainably done in northern climates, awareness of the benefits of composting, hands-on understanding of the components required for successful composting, and the skills to identify and correct problems within a compost pile. This project will also increase the number of producers in Minnesota and North Dakota exploring the option of composting on their own farm, and applying composted rather than raw manure.