Complexity in manure nutrient availability: Nitrogen, species & bedding

Manure nutrient management is uniquely complex, and we discuss some reasons why on today's Advancing Nitrogen Smart episode. What specific factors make manure management far more complex than applying standard chemical fertilizer? How do digestive systems and diets cause nitrogen availability to differ across various livestock species? Why does nitrogen availability decline so rapidly when manure is left exposed on the soil surface, and how much may be lost to atmospheric evaporation within a just few days? How can farmers optimize their fertilizer investments and evaluate whether their crops received sufficient nitrogen using late-season testing? These questions and more on today's 42nd episode of Advancing Nitrogen Smart.

Read the full transcript here

Guests:

• Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato)
• Melissa Wilson, Extension manure nutrient management specialist (St. Paul)

Additional resources:

• How to put together a manure management plan
• Nitrogen availability of different manure types: What we know and what we are researching
• Manure use benefits and barriers: Insights from a survey of farmers and advisors
• Introducing ManureDB: A new way to view manure variability and trends
• Tips for fall manure application and how to avoid nutrient loss

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Advancing Nitrogen Smart is proud to be supported by the farm families of Minnesota and their corn check-off investment through Minnesota Corn.