MANURE

Nitrate is a water-soluble form of nitrogen required for plant growth. It can become a health problem if present in high levels in groundwater.

In the past 30 years, manure storage has changed, particularly when it comes to size. As storage facilities grow, thorough agitation becomes a challenge.

When designing a new building or retrofitting an existing facility, there are boundless questions that have to be thought through and answered.

Question: What is the purpose of freestall bedding? Answer: To provide a cow a clean, dry resting surface. Especially, this means creating an environment where exposure of teat ends to attack from mastitis-causing pathogens is minimized.

While the process of anaerobically digesting organic wastes has long been present, its effective use is often not realized since the basics of its operation is not well understood.

Manure digesters will become more common on our dairy farms in the future, perhaps driven by odour control more than anything else. My observation is that some dairy farmers yearn for the time when they will be able to sell more electricity into the grid than they use, thus having an additional income stream.