Two things are true when it comes to agriculture: where there are cattle, there is manure and where there are crops, there is a need for nutrients. Producers have found many ways to handle those two truths individually, but research is showing that some things really are better together.
Feedlot operators have been spreading manure on their fields as a way to clean up pens and for the beneficial nutrients it provides for quite some time now. In the last while though, more feedlots, as well as cattle producers that feed in bunks throughout the winter, have been working on composting the outcome of long winters and multiple pens.
In this excerpt from an upcoming episode of Ruminating with RealAg, Ezra Aberle and Mary Keena with the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center discuss the ongoing research they have been doing on the benefits of using feedlot compost and manure in annual cropping systems.
Listen in as they discuss the fertility in compost, what type of operations this could work in, and the economics behind the different manure management practices.
Ruminating with RealAg is a RealAgriculture podcast series hosted by Amber Bell that focuses on all things bovine. We’re here to chew the cud on everything from the latest in cattle genetics, to how to keep your herd happy with rotational grazing, to winter feeding techniques and everything in between. Check it out, here.
