Manure management

[MAKING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR MANURE Webinar series highlights free AgriSuite software that can help reduce fertilizer use

By Lilian Schaer CONTRIBUTOR

Fertilizer prices are soaring, and supply chain delays and shortages are causing headaches on the farm. However, many farmers have a ready solution at their fingertips that could help offset some of that pain—livestock manure.

A free software package from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) called AgriSuite is available to help farmers figure out how to make the best possible use of livestock nutrients on their soil and their crops.

And this winter, a series of online workshops hosted by farmers, contractors and consultants will discuss how to best use the software modules for liquid hog and dairy manure, digestate, as well as solid beef, sheep, veal and poultry manure.

It was a similar scenario of skyrocketing fertilizer prices in 2008 that first got Janet Harrop, a dairy farmer in Wellington County, interested in AgriSuite and its capabilities. She farms with her husband, son and daughter-in-law north of Fergus, Ont., and is certified as an agricultural operator in nutrient management. The Harrops apply agricultural and non-agricultural source materials on their farm.

“I wanted to manage the livestock nutrients we applied from an agronomy perspective and also from the economics,” she explains. “AgriSuite lets me incorporate the previous crop, the current crop and the soil and manure from my farm, so I always know what additional fertilizer I need or don’t need. It’s a science-based approach to understanding the nutrients and the true agronomic balance within in the farm.”

According to Harrop, using AgriSuite helped her cut her fertilizer application in half, which went a long way to lessening the burden of high fertilizer prices at the time.

AgriSuite includes five easy-to-use calculators that can be used independently or in tandem to obtain simple estimates to support nutrient management decisions. Topics include field management, organic amendments, phosphorous loss, fertilizer and crop nutrients. The popular nutrient management (NMAN) and Manure Storage Sizing (MSTOR) programs are also part of the software package.

A practical online workshop on determining the value of liquid dairy manure using AgriSuite will be hosted on Feb. 2 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Christine Brown, OMAFRA field crop sustainability specialist, will highlight how to use AgriSuite to do nutrient calculations, and a dairy farmer, agri-contractor and agronomist will share how to put that information to use on the farm.

Additional AgriSuite workshops include liquid hog manure and digestate on Feb. 1, solid beef, sheep and veal manure on Feb. 2, and solid poultry manure on Feb. 3.

AGRISUITE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP WITH MANURE MANAGEMENT AND CROP FERTILITY NEEDS ARE: •crop nutrient tool to determine crop needs and nutrient removal; •organic amendment tool to estimate available nutrients from manure; •fertilizer tool to determine rates and blends of inorganic fertilizer; •phosphorus loss (PLATO) tool to determine the risk of field-scale phosphorus loss related to site-specific field characteristics, and associated management practices; •field management planning tool incorporates a collection of additional tools that help optimize crop production while minimizing the risk of nutrient loss.

The AgriSuite workshops are part of the Timing Matters Manure Education Project, which is funded by OMAFRA. The entire collection of AgriSuite tools is available to download at www.ontario.ca/agrisuite.

More information about manure stewardship and long-term nutrient management options is available at https://www.farmfoodcareon.org/ timing-matters/.

Lilian Schaer

is a freelance agricultural journalist, writer and communications professional based in Guelph, Ont. She was born in Switzerland and raised on a dairy farm in Grey County. Follow her on Twitter @foodandfarming.

This article is provided by Farm & Food Care Ontario as part of the Timing Matters project. The project is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.