The misconception about manure being just a waste and harmful biproduct of the cattle and livestock industry is still a big concern. A group of researchers and extension educators have joined efforts with farmers across Nebraska to find the value of manure as a source of nutrients in crop fields in the Sandhills and reduce the environmental impacts caused by this industry. At the same time, they are trying to incorporate residues from red cedar trees that are currently threatening the Nebraskan wildlife and ecosystems due to its rapid expansion.

Animal manures can be a “valuable asset” or a “pain in the assets”. Understanding the agriculture community's perceptions of manure's benefits and barriers is important to recycling manure nutrients efficienty. A survey of 957 individuals from the U.S. and Canada is helping us understand the next steps to encouraging manure's use as a valuable asset.

For cattle producers who rely on wells in pastures and rangelands as a water source for their cattle, much time is spent checking water to make sure that windmills and submersible wells are delivering the water cattle need. These water checks are often made daily or every other day to ensure water is available. When problems occur with a water source cattle depend on, time is limited to get the problem fixed, haul water or move the cattle to another location where water is. Timeliness of knowing there is a problem with a well or a tank that stores water is essential to being able to correct the problem quickly and avoid the detrimental impacts of cattle being without water.

High rainfalls can leave holding ponds or manure storage full and operators looking for irrigation options for applying animal manure during the growing season. This article discusses important considerations for application of open lot holding pond effluent and diluted manures during the growing season without damaging the crop.

Extending the window for manure application offers many possible advantages. One can reduce some of the labor and equipment challenges associated with busy spring application windows as well as deliver nutrients to the crop more closely timed to the crop’s nutrient’s needs. Glen Arnold, Extension Specialist at Ohio State University recently met with a Nebraska audience to share field experiences in Ohio to side-dress manure into growing corn.