In 1997, composted beef feedlot manure averaged 19.7% moisture, while
composted dairy manure averaged 34%. The higher moisture content of the
composted dairy manure was attributed to its high sand content, which
hindered the heating process. The lower temperatures were not sufficient to
drive off the excess water in the manure.
Nitrogen and organic matter recovery rates for beef feedlot manure were 84
and 85% for 1996, and 61 and 39% for 1997. The higher recovery of nutrients
in 1996 may be due to lower initial nutrient levels, with much of the N
being lost in the feedlot through volatilization and decomposition.
The addition of sawdust was investigated in an effort to improve the N
recovery rate by increasing the carbon:nitrogen (C:N) ratio of manure prior
to composting to 20:1, compared to 12:1 without sawdust additions. Sawdust
additions only increased the C:N ratio to 17.7:1, but N recovery rates
averaged 81%, and composted feedlot manure contained 19.4 lbs N/ton, which
is the highest N level we have obtained since we have began composting.
Recovery rates of N and organic matter for composted dairy manure were about
62% for 1996 and 44% for 1997. The lower recovery rates in 1997 may be due
to higher initial N content of the manure and also higher losses of N during
the composting process due to poorer composting conditions.
During the past five years, crop yield response to compost applications has
been variable. Wheat has shown the greatest response with a 14% increase (5
bu/ac) in yield following compost application. In other check strips
comparing compost vs. no compost application, grain sorghum increased 3% (3
bu/ac), irrigated corn 3% (4 bu/ac), dryland corn 2% (2 bu/ac), irrigated
soybeans 2% (1 bu/ac), and dryland soybeans 2% (1 bu/ac). While these yield
increases are modest, there are still yield increases five years after
compost application. We believe the addition of lime to several fields with
low soil pH will increase the availability of phosphorus from the compost
and improve crop yields. Soil analysis indicated higher bray P levels
following compost application compared to where no compost was applied in
the 0-3" depth of soil (40 vs. 24 ppm). Higher application rates of compost
may be needed for greater crop yield responses and improvement in soil tilth.
Research conducted at the Meat Animal Research Center has indicated a
buildup of nitrates below the compost site following composting. Soil cores
taken at the compost site following three years of composting indicated an
increase in soil nitrates down to a depth of 10 feet compared to an adjacent
sod area. Results showed an average of 468 lbs nitrates/ac below the compost
site compared to 160 lbs nitrates/ac for the sod control. The following
spring we moved 2/3 of the compost site to an area across the road, and
seeded alfalfa at the old compost site to help scavenge nitrates from the
soil. The new alfalfa stand was good except in the areas of the old
windrows. We speculate that high levels of ammonium in the surface soil may
have inhibited germination and growth of alfalfa. By the end of the summer,
weeds were growing in the previously barren areas. Soil samples taken prior
to any composting at the new site in the spring of 1996 showed 209 lbs
nitrates/ac in the top 10 feet of soil. Following one year of composting,
results showed 522 lbs nitrates/ac. On the old compost site where we have
been composting for four years, there were 436 lbs nitrates/ac below the
site. Samples taken in the alfalfa field following three years of composting
and one year of alfalfa showed average nitrate levels of 607 lbs nitrates/ac
compared to 216 for an adjacent area. These results illustrate the
variability in nitrate levels within the compost site. Nitrate levels will
continue to be monitored and the compost site managed in an environmentally
sound manner.
By Gary Lesoing
CSAS BIDS GARY LESOING FAREWELL
Gary Lesoing, long-time UNL employee and coordinator of the Integrated Farm
project for six years, has accepted a position with the University of
Missouri as an Agronomy Specialist at Richmond, MO. His last day with the
Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems is April 15. Gary has provided
many years of good service to several departments and the Agricultural
Research and Development Center, and we wish him well as he embarks on his
new career.
EPA DRAFTS STRATEGY ON ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS
In an effort to reduce animal waste runoff into waterways, the Environmental
Protection Agency released a draft strategy on March 5 that calls for
"aggressive enforcement" of Clean Water Act permit requirements for an
estimated 450,000 animal-feeding operations in the U.S. As part of the draft
plan, the EPA said it would revise national environmental guidelines for
allowable levels of waste from chicken and pig farms by December 2001, and
for cattle and dairy farms by December 2002.
Environmentalists praised the EPA action but demanded that the agency impose
a moratorium on additional large livestock farms until the new regulations
are finalized. Claiming that one size does not fit all, some farm groups
complained that varying conditions throughout the nation mean EPA cannot
regulate all farms.
Copies of the draft strategy are available from EPA's Water Resource Center
at 202-260-7786, or on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/owm. Written
comments will be accepted until May 1, l998, and may be submitted to Ruby
Cooper-Ford, U.S. EPA, Mail Code 4203, Washington, D. C. 20460, or by
e-mail: Ford.Ruby@epamail.epa.gov. Copies of the final enforcement strategy,
the "Compliance Assurance Implementation Plan for CAFOs," will be
available on the Internet at http://es.epa.gov/oeca/agbranch.html, or by
contacting Michelle Stevenson at 202-564-2355.
Sources: EPA press release, 3/5/98; Reuters, 3/5/98
TRAINING WORKSHOP ON SUSTAINABLE AGROECOSYSTEMS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Seeing agroecosystems in the field will be the focus of a June 11-24, 1998
workshop. Objectives are to present basic principles and specific
technologies for soil and water management and to see the technologies being
used under field conditions.
Development of the southern and central Great Plains has had both positive
and negative impacts on crop production and the environment. Experiences in
the region are valuable to scientists, technology transfer personnel,
planners and policy makers for other semiarid regions of the world. The
Great Plains is also a major irrigated region, but the water resource is
being seriously depleted, particularly in the southern Great Plains.
Participants will visit sites where highly efficient irrigation systems are
used.
Headquarters for the Workshop will be the West Texas A&M University campus
in Canyon, Texas. The annual precipitation for the different agroecosystems
ranges from 400 mm to 800 mm, and the major enterprises include livestock,
grain production, cotton production, and integrated crop-livestock systems
under both dryland and irrigated conditions. Participants will visit a major
research facility in each ecoregion where scientists will present principles
and show current research and new technologies. Then they will see practices
currently used and visit directly with technology transfer personnel,
farmers, and other producers.
For more information, phone 806-656-2299, fax 806-656-2938, e-mail
stewart@wtamu.edu, or access http://www.wtamu.edu/research/dryland/workshop.htm
KEEP CHECKING CSAS WEB PAGE
We remind you to check our Web page periodically. We keep adding to our
links page as we learn of sites that are related to the CSAS mission. We
welcome any and all feedback about our site. Home page address is:
http://ianrwww.unl.edu/ianr/csas.
RESOURCES
Advancing Sustainable Agriculture through Small Group Discussions: a guide
for group leaders and members, 1998. $25. 175-page handbook contains
guidelines for setting up study circles, tips on forming productive
questions, stories from existing study circles, and lists of reference
materials from around the world. Make checks payable to the University of
Illinois and send to Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant at P.O. Box 410, Greenview, IL
62642, cavanaughd@ces.aces.uiuc.edu.
Techniques for Reducing Pesticide Use: Economic and Environmental Benefits,
1997. $99. David Pimentel, ed. Examines technologies and processes available
for reducing pesticide use in agriculture, including field, fruit,
greenhouse and vegetable crops. Describes cultural pest control methods,
IPM, breeding for resistance, biological control and other practices that
minimize pesticide use, and discusses environmental and social costs of
pesticides. Examines Swedish pesticide reduction program, which has cut use
by 75%. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 9th Floor, 605
Third Ave, New York, NY 10158-0012, 800-879-4539, custserv@wiley.com,
http://www.wiley.com.
Suppliers of Beneficial Organisms in North America, 1997. Single copies
free. Lists businesses and organizations in Canada, Mexico and U.S. that
sell beneficial organisms such as natural pest enemies. California
Environmental Protection Agency, Dept. of Pesticide Regulation, 1020 N
Street, Rm 161, Sacramento, CA 95814-5624, 916-324-4100,
chunter@cdpr.ca.gov, http://www.cdpr.ca.gov.
Now or Never: Serious New Plans to Save a Natural Pest Control. $14.95 + $3
s&h. New report from Union of Concerned Scientists recommends ways to
strengthen the resistance management plans for the three genetically
engineered, or transgenic, Bt crops currently commercialized in the U. S.:
corn, cotton, and potato. UCS Publications, Department N, Two Brattle
Square, Cambridge, MA 02238-9105, 617-547-5552.
The Community Farm. $20/yr. ($23.00 Canada). New quarterly newsletter
published by Five Springs Farm. Designed for anyone active or interested in
the community supported agriculture (CSA) movement, small farms and
sustainable agriculture. Will include: dialog between farmers, core group
members and others; updated news concerning CSAs and sustainable
agriculture; answers from CSA experts; articles written by farmers, interns,
farm members and others; crops and techniques that work for CSA farms; and
more. Make checks payable in U.S. funds to THE COMMUNITY FARM and send to
3480 Potter Road, Bear Lake, MI 49614, fsfarm@mufn.org.
COMING EVENTS
Contact CSAS office for more information.
1998
May 21-June 2 — Alternative Paradigms for Commercializing Biological Control
Workshop, New Brunswick, NJ
http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/biopesticides.htm
May 31-June 2 — Agricultural Biotechnology and Environmental Quality: Gene
Escape and Pest Resistance, Greenville, SC
June 1 — First International Conference: Geospatial Information in
Agriculture and Forestry, Lake Buena Vista, FL
http://www.erim.org/CONF/conf.html
June 3-6 — Conference: Who Owns America II: How Land and Natural Resources
are Owned and Controlled, Madison, WI
June 11-24 — Training Workshop on Sustainable Agroecosystems and
Environmental Issues,
Canyon, TX (see article this issue)
July 5-9 — Soil and Water Conservation annual conference, Balancing Resource
Issues: Land, Water, People, San Diego, CA
Oct. 4-7 — North American Conference On Enterprise Development Through
Agroforestry, Minneapolis, MN
Nov. 23-27 — First International Agronomy Congress - Agronomy, Environment,
and Food Security for 21st Century, New Delhi, India
Nov. 29 - Dec. 4 — AFSRE 15th Symposium - Rural Livelihoods, Empowerment and
the Environment: Going Beyone the Farm Boundary, Pretoria, South Africa
1999
Jan. 8-9 — Great Plains Regional Vegetable Conference, St. Jo, MO
Jan. 21-22 — Farm Marketing into the Next Millenium, Grand Rapids, MI
DID YOU KNOW...
According to Reuters, as of 3/23/98, more than 23,000 individuals and
organizations had commented on the proposed organic standard rules, a record
for a USDA rulemaking.
# # #
***********************
Pam Murray, Coordinator
Center for Grassland Studies and
Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems
PO Box 830949
University of Nebraska
Lincoln, NE 68583-0949
phone: 402-472-9383
fax: 402-472-4104
e-mail: csas001@unlvm.unl.edu
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