If you've ever looked out over a freshly fertilized field and noticed a tangle of net wrap or a bit of old plastic poking out of the soil, you're not alone. Recent work on my own farm reminded me of something that might be bugging you too: finding plastic and other junk in livestock manure and worse, seeing it show up in the field.

We all know that a good, clean manure application is important for soil health, crop performance, and even how our operation looks to others. But getting there takes more than just spreading what’s in the pit or pile. It starts all the way back at the feed source and it follows through every step from pen to crop harvest...using preventative common sense

One of the biggest culprits I see is net wrap and twine (see photo). Look, I get it, it’s tempting to just toss a whole bale into the feeder or tub grinder and keep moving. We're all busy. But that plastic wrap doesn’t just disappear. If animals don’t eat it (which can cause serious health issues), it gets collected with the manure and ends up in the spreader. From there, it makes its way to your field or worse, into your equipment.

Let’s not forget about wildlife either. They can ingest plastic or get tangled in it, leading to injuries or death. So, take an extra minute to remove that wrap and twine properly. It’s a small step with big impact.
Whether your animals are housed inside or out, stuff happens. Tools break. Gloves and tags fall in. The wind blows in plastic grocery bags or feed sacks. Bits of wood rot and fall apart. And sometimes, concrete chips away during pen cleaning.

All of that can end up in manure. So regular pen inspections and quick cleanups are key. The more junk you pull out early, the less ends up in the pit, pile or field.

This is also a good time to talk about mortality management. If an animal dies in the pen and isn’t removed quickly, it can spread disease and breed flies.  Also, over time, bones and tissue decomposing in pits clog up pumps and spreaders. A quick daily walkthrough can catch these issues early and keep your system flowing the way it should.

When manure is clean, equipment runs smoother; spreader beaters are less likely to jam, and hoses don’t plug as often. And when it’s time to apply manure and let’s be honest, we’re usually racing against weather, that reliability is priceless.

But it’s not just about avoiding breakdowns during application. Foreign materials left in the manure can cause problems later. I’ve personally pulled net wrap off closing wheel bearings on our planter more times than I’d like to admit. I’ve heard horror stories of twine messing up tillage tools and concrete chunks being sucked into windrowers, balers, and combines. None of that is cheap or quick to repair.

A little bit of maintenance up front saves a lot of frustration down the road. Whether it’s removing twine from bales, picking up fallen tools, or walking pens to check for debris, every step you take keeps manure and fields cleaner and safer. Let’s keep plastic and other junk out of manure and off fields. Crops will grow well and uniformly, equipment will run smoothly, and you will have peace of mind.