Animal Manure Management

Agricultural Production Animal Manure Management

Animal Manure Management

Recycling local manure nutrients before purchasing fertilizer is key to protecting the environment. Manure can be an economic “Win”, due to its fertility value, and a soil quality “Win”, due to its organic matter.  But it can also be a community risk, due to odors and pathogens. Our live educational programs, online courses, and resources provide science-based information on economically viable, environmentally sound manure handling systems that also comply with all regulations.

Got Manure? Need Manure? – There’s an App for that!

preview of manure app home screen
The UNL manure team has been working on building an app to connect the public to the manure people they need, and maybe learn a little bit about manure along the way. Our goal with the app is to enable folks to find a manure applicator, broker, advisor, or resource person in their area. We’ve been testing and updating, and we think it’s ready for its full debut! The app is available for both Android and Apple devices.

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Antimicrobial Resistant Bacteria Within Surface Water Bodies

Vertical and horizontal transmission of resistance in bacteria (graphic source: Sonseverino et. al., 2018)
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a problem currently within public surface water bodies and will continue to challenge animal agriculture. AMR can impair our ability to use antibiotics to fight infections and other ailments. Antimicrobials make their way to our water primarily by ways of industrial waste, manure application, and aquaculture. Using responsible manure spreading practices, runoff prevention, spreading awareness, and partnering with your veterinarian for responsibly using antimicrobials can help aid in the solution.

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Phase feeding protein in beef cattle diets to mitigate excreted nitrogen

Distillers grains, common in beef cattle diets, is high in crude protein. Picture courtesy of agupdate.com."
Supplemental protein has historically been the most expensive component in beef cattle diets. However, over the past 20 years with the rapid expansion of ethanol production and distillers grains supply, rations have changed.

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Manure Stockpiles: Mind Your Manners

manure stockpile with markup showing where to place a dike
As responsible land stewards, farmers, who follow “good neighbor practices,” may save on commercial fertilizer costs while at the same time protecting groundwater from contamination due to nutrient leaching. Properly stockpiled manure stored on field edges can be a “win-win” for farmers and their rural neighbors through addressing two common concerns: runoff and odors.

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Bringing Manure Application to the Digital Age

Combined display of GPS technologies and real-time constituent sensing during manure application
Current manure application practices have little to no precision application capabilities compared to other modern agricultural equipment. Due to some recent emerging technologies being released on the market, manure application is finally joining the digital age. This article summarizes these new precision manure application technologies.

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