Latest / The Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Podcast / Episode 09 | Handling Livestock Waste: Part 3 Best Management Practices
Transcript
- Episode 09 | Handling Livestock Waste: Part 3 Best Management Practices 00:00:06:02 - 00:00:31:02 Todd Gleason This is the Illinois Nutrient Lost podcast, episode number nine: Handling Livestock Waste part three of four, Best Management Practices, or BMPs. I'm University of Illinois Extension's Todd Gleason. We're now joined by Haley Haverback from extension to talk about the BMPs as it relates to manure applications on farmland. Thank you so much, Haley, for being here. Can you tell me about some of these BMPs? 00:00:31:09 - 00:01:01:07 Haley Haverback Yeah, there definitely is best management practices. So when managing manure to protect water quality, it really requires that producers have strategies for both manure storage and the location, timing and rate of application. So first and foremost, it's critical to always remember to manage and utilize manure as a fertilizer. So producers should apply manure at agronomic rates based on the University of Illinois and USDA NRCS guidelines. 00:01:01:09 - 00:01:26:03 Haley Haverback So kind of an easy way to go to do about this would be to go through the University of Illinois extension web page. And there's actually a livestock and facilities manure management page. And if you click on manure Central, there's lots of great resources in regards to manure application, including a calculator that actually allows you to estimate your manure as commercial fertilizer equivalent value. 00:01:26:06 - 00:01:52:03 Haley Haverback There's also a link to the MRTN or the maximum return nitrogen calculator, so you can figure out those rates fairly easily using this website. And it's also important to remember to minimize water additions to manure. And so we always try to remember for the clean water diversion keep clean water clean and dirty water contained. So contaminated runoff must be contained. 00:01:52:03 - 00:02:19:19 Haley Haverback That's really important. Manure should also be injected or immediately incorporated, into the soil to minimize the potential for manure offsite movement. It's always important to keep that in mind. And I know it may be hard to predict, but it's always important to try to avoid manure applications when precipitation is anticipated within 24 hours. So it's important to check the weather before you're going to apply any of your manure. 00:02:19:22 - 00:02:48:10 Haley Haverback And you should also try to avoid, or minimize manure applications to snow covered or frozen areas only to minimum sloping ground, as these applications pose a high risk of discharge to water sources. And if producers have any more questions as to best management practices, I would encourage them to do, work with their local NRCS or Soil and Water Conservation District to help them develop their nutrient management plan for their farm. 00:02:48:12 - 00:03:17:16 Todd Gleason Haley Haverback is with University of Illinois Extension. If you'd like to view some of the best management practices, you can do that on the U of I website. It's extension.illinois.edu. And then you're going to look for the livestock facilities and manure management portion of the website. That's livestock facilities and manure management or l f m m. The website is extension dot Illinois dot Edu backslash l f m m. 00:03:17:19 - 00:03:23:17 Todd Gleason You've been listening to the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction podcast, I’m U of I extension’s Todd Gleason.