MANURE

Spreading liquid manure stinks, but with a dragline manure application system, it’s a breath of fresh air.

Imagine a regular day on the farm. You’re going about your chores as usual until the pump in the manure transfer pit under the barn breaks. You go down in the pit to fix it, but suddenly you’re overcome by manure gas. No one ever expects a manure-related incident to happen, yet they do all too frequently.

Last spring, The Yield Lab Institute announced the Manure Innovation Challenge, a startup competition for innovative management technologies and products that relate to manure, wastewater, waste nutrients or emissions.

Balancing manure and fertilizer applications, crop production and environmental conservation is an ongoing challenge.

Not many years ago, there were only two people allowed to enter a newly planted Midwest cornfield: One was the person applying the side-dress nitrogen, and the other was the person applying the weed control.

The components of manure reflect the components of the cow’s internal and external environment, including a variety of potential disease-causing microorganisms.