2022 Eastern Nebraska Soil Health Conference Presentations - Amy Schmidt

Deloris Pittman & Mike Kamm Author

02/08/2022 Added

13 Plays

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When is Manure the Right Solution for a Cropping System? (Virtual Real-Time Presentation) - Amy Schmidt, Associate Professor & Livestock Manure Management Engineer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

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[00:00:08.290]So I want to visit,
[00:00:10.330]today about when is manure the right solution for a cropping system. And,
[00:00:16.360]I'm sure you've been hearing today and you will hear today about cover crops and
[00:00:20.890]no till and a number of different,
[00:00:23.800]management practices that are,
[00:00:26.920]have positive influences on soil health and so quality and so
[00:00:31.900]manure.
[00:00:33.250]I would like you to consider is just one of those tools in the toolbox,
[00:00:37.960]for improving soil health and maintaining soil health.
[00:00:43.630]so as, as mentioned during the introduction,
[00:00:48.370]there's actually a large group of us in the state of Nebraska that make up the
[00:00:52.090]animal manure management team. And so I always like to share with you,
[00:00:56.410]the other individuals that are part of this team and our website,
[00:01:00.400]addresses there at the bottom. so that you know,
[00:01:03.130]who you can reach out to either in your region of the state or,
[00:01:07.510]on campus for questions related to, livestock,
[00:01:11.770]manure management. So as a team,
[00:01:17.740]we have kind of three overall goals that,
[00:01:21.240]that we're working towards.
[00:01:23.290]So the first one is just building awareness about the value of
[00:01:28.630]manure.
[00:01:29.080]So a lot of times this means understanding the nutrient value,
[00:01:33.970]how to account for the nutrients in manure,
[00:01:37.570]how to calculate a value based on fertilizer, equivalent.
[00:01:42.730]But we also talked quite a bit about the benefits that aren't,
[00:01:47.290]as tangible or as,
[00:01:50.110]that we can assign a value to things like the organic matter and
[00:01:55.270]the, microbes that are in manure and the way that manure applications,
[00:01:59.800]the land changes, soil properties.
[00:02:04.630]we, do a lot of work to demonstrate benefits of manure,
[00:02:09.940]through on-farm research and demonstrations. And so at any number of,
[00:02:14.230]field days and meetings, you'll see members of our team out there,
[00:02:17.080]either showing some in field research that we're doing, or,
[00:02:22.030]some tabletop demonstrations that are,
[00:02:25.240]used to demonstrate soil property changes. And then,
[00:02:29.920]one of our,
[00:02:31.300]our biggest efforts lately has just been helping to increase competence
[00:02:36.130]among crop farmers,
[00:02:38.410]to identify fields that are likely to drive the greatest value from manure.
[00:02:42.970]So we are typically looking at livestock
[00:02:48.370]producers who have the manure,
[00:02:50.620]crop producers who don't raise livestock and exchanging that
[00:02:55.270]manure, between the two operations.
[00:02:58.180]We want to make sure crop farmers,
[00:03:02.440]understand what they're getting and how best to use it and where they might get
[00:03:06.070]the most value out of it. So, for instance, if it's,
[00:03:10.450]if you've got a, manure that's, well,
[00:03:13.900]any of them that have potassium and phosphate in them,
[00:03:17.110]if they're being applied to a field that's high in,
[00:03:21.460]potassium and phosphorus,
[00:03:23.110]then you don't really get the value from that manure of those nutrients because
[00:03:26.890]you don't need them. So we like to look at,
[00:03:29.770]all the scenarios that you might consider,
[00:03:33.490]for why that manure would be valuable and where, applying it would,
[00:03:37.460]would give you the most, return on that investment.
[00:03:43.060]So I think one thing we,
[00:03:46.870]we can all agree on is that regardless of our role,
[00:03:49.930]whether we're educators or farmers or advisors to farmers,
[00:03:54.970]we're all kind of working towards the same goal and that is for agricultural
[00:03:58.750]production to be profitable and sustainable.
[00:04:01.300]And so from the nutrient management perspective,
[00:04:07.060]we're interested in reducing,
[00:04:09.760]non-point source pollution from agricultural fields.
[00:04:12.970]So that is the runoff from fields that reaches surface water bodies and
[00:04:17.860]carries, nutrients and sediments or other contaminants that are,
[00:04:22.840]you know, a threat to water quality. And it's also,
[00:04:26.800]we're also thinking about leaching of nitrogen. And so,
[00:04:32.230]you know,
[00:04:32.650]groundwater and surface water quality are kind of what we're addressing and
[00:04:37.360]what we like to tie back to the use of manure and other,
[00:04:41.380]practices that improve resilience and productivity of crop
[00:04:46.120]lanes.
[00:04:49.960]So this is taken from, certified crop advisors,
[00:04:54.700]site. And so when they are working with farmers,
[00:04:57.850]they're really trying to help that farmer decide what are the
[00:05:02.620]right solutions for their operation and their goals. And so
[00:05:09.160]nutrient management is always obviously a big component of that,
[00:05:12.790]but they're also looking at integrated pest management,
[00:05:15.010]water and soil crop management.
[00:05:17.260]And so what I want to talk about today are the ways that manure influences these
[00:05:22.240]different areas of land management. So we know nutrient management,
[00:05:26.770]that's a big one,
[00:05:27.460]but I want to talk to about how manure impacts pest management,
[00:05:32.260]water and soil, and then, crop health and, and,
[00:05:37.270]production efficiency and, and, environmental impacts as well.
[00:05:42.220]And I think the one point I,
[00:05:43.970]I want to make before we start is that every farm is different. Every farmer's,
[00:05:48.940]goals or individual needs might be a little bit different.
[00:05:52.900]And so I would just encourage you to think about what are your ultimate goals on
[00:05:57.590]your farm? Is it improving,
[00:06:00.140]nutrient utilization or nutrients and efficiency of your
[00:06:04.940]ups? Is it reducing erosion or runoff, and then,
[00:06:09.980]and then select those practices that you're hearing about today that are
[00:06:13.220]relevant to your needs. So they may not all be, but,
[00:06:17.510]but like I said, manure is one of those,
[00:06:20.030]items in the toolbox for soil health that, I would like you to keep in mind.
[00:06:24.890]So maneuvers role in nutrient management is, pretty straightforward.
[00:06:29.960]Maneuver is kind of the oldest,
[00:06:31.760]recycling program that has ever existed, right?
[00:06:35.390]They use manure for cropping systems long before we knew of inorganic
[00:06:40.310]fertilizer or any other sources of,
[00:06:44.390]practices to improve crop production.
[00:06:47.900]And I think it's important to consider maneuvering or
[00:06:53.300]part of a complete fertility programs.
[00:06:56.160]So you can absolutely meet all of your crop nutrient needs with,
[00:07:00.560]with inorganic fertilizer, a lot of farmers do that.
[00:07:07.010]the problem that we've seen over the years and why there's such a focus now on
[00:07:11.240]improving soil health,
[00:07:13.310]is that using inorganic fertilizers without
[00:07:17.870]returning any of the organic matter to the soil that is
[00:07:22.370]removed with proper production,
[00:07:24.440]where we're seeing a decline in the quality of the soils, there's,
[00:07:27.830]there's greater erosion potential, greater runoff, nutrient losses.
[00:07:32.930]And so we seem a newer as,
[00:07:37.220]as a compliment to inorganic fertilizer.
[00:07:39.770]We know it's difficult to meet exact crop nutrient needs with just
[00:07:44.270]manure,
[00:07:45.500]but it certainly should be an important consideration in a fertility program.
[00:07:50.270]So, research in general shows that,
[00:07:54.710]if you apply equivalent rates of nutrients as a manure or commercial fertilizer,
[00:08:00.230]there's fewer, there's a,
[00:08:02.140]there's a lower risk of nutrient losses from manure application,
[00:08:06.890]then chemical fertilizer. And so there's,
[00:08:11.750]for instance, there's a research project,
[00:08:14.060]that was published out of Arkansas and they showed a 55% reduction in
[00:08:19.040]phosphorus concentration and runoff,
[00:08:22.190]seven days after serpent for surface application of poultry litter.
[00:08:27.410]And they were comparing that to a similar application of inorganic phosphorus.
[00:08:32.750]And so from a, from a plant's perspective, nutrients or nutrients,
[00:08:38.270]organic nitrogen that comes in manure obviously is not available right away to
[00:08:42.470]the plants, but when it becomes available as an inorganic form of nitrogen,
[00:08:46.790]they don't know the difference between that inorganic form and a commercial
[00:08:50.270]fertilizer. It's all just inorganic nitrogen.
[00:08:52.430]So then the same is true with phosphorus and potassium.
[00:08:55.020]So if we can meet crop nutrient needs,
[00:08:59.400]immediate needs with application,
[00:09:02.820]considering our inorganic nitrogen that's in that manure and also
[00:09:07.770]be meeting future needs with the organic fraction of nitrogen that becomes
[00:09:10.950]available over time. We're also improving the soil quality so that when we do,
[00:09:16.050]apply inorganic fertilizers, we're more likely to,
[00:09:21.570]have those available to the plants rather than losing them,
[00:09:25.290]to ground them surface water through runoff, erosion, and leaching. So,
[00:09:29.730]so manure is really, it's both a nutrient source,
[00:09:33.480]but it's a source of helping improve the,
[00:09:38.190]efficiency of inorganic fertilizer, use as well.
[00:09:45.060]Another thing that we've been working on,
[00:09:48.300]at UNL over the past several years is,
[00:09:52.410]of course you mean cover crops. You're hearing about today,
[00:09:56.190]residue management,
[00:09:57.330]anything that leaves a cover on the soil surface to protect it when you don't
[00:10:01.440]have a, a row crop growing.
[00:10:04.140]But another area that we've been looking at is using, mulch,
[00:10:08.490]primarily from Cedar tree clearing in the state.
[00:10:12.420]And this is an effort that's been funded and promoted by the Nebraska forest
[00:10:16.860]service,
[00:10:17.760]because in order to encourage people to manage Cedar trees on their land,
[00:10:22.440]there needs to be some mark or some,
[00:10:26.580]some value added use of the material that's generated.
[00:10:29.760]And so we've worked for probably,
[00:10:33.210]past five or six years looking at application of the Cedar
[00:10:37.620]mulch to cropland within,
[00:10:40.170]without manure to try and understand how does it impact,
[00:10:44.940]soil properties, nitrogen and carbon cycling,
[00:10:49.770]soil microbes, all of those things that we kind of think about as part of,
[00:10:54.240]the soil health equation and, overall it's,
[00:10:59.310]it's, been shown to be beneficial. We haven't really seen any negative,
[00:11:04.170]outcomes,
[00:11:05.910]but I will say that a combination of molt with manure seems to be the best
[00:11:10.680]option,
[00:11:11.040]because then you get better breakdown of the carbon in that mulch when you have
[00:11:15.810]a nitrogen component with it as well. So I have some,
[00:11:19.590]results here in a moment that I'm going to show from some of our work,
[00:11:23.910]but I want to talk a little bit about pest management before I show you,
[00:11:28.890]those researchers. So with, pest management,
[00:11:33.420]when we're thinking of an overall, production system,
[00:11:37.980]we want to look at, look at strategies that,
[00:11:41.940]in help control negative PEs in the field,
[00:11:45.960]maybe that's by out competing those pests with,
[00:11:49.980]with good organisms. and we want to do this, you know,
[00:11:54.550]without impacting our yield negatively and we want to be protecting the
[00:11:58.810]environment. So,
[00:12:00.910]we know that good management of our soil helps improve water storage,
[00:12:05.740]helps them improve drainage, helps hold nutrients,
[00:12:09.520]where the crops can use them, makes the soil more poorest,
[00:12:13.180]so that roots can develop better and reach the water and nutrients that they
[00:12:16.960]need, but all those things together,
[00:12:22.180]there's research starting to show that those things can influence,
[00:12:26.590]crop defense mechanisms in populations of beneficial
[00:12:30.730]organisms, that out-compete some of the pest organisms.
[00:12:35.080]so the more diverse the plants, the organisms in the soil,
[00:12:40.090]nor diverse, those are in a farming system, the more diverse,
[00:12:43.900]the community of beneficial organisms that,
[00:12:46.870]that farm can support in that soil can support. And so,
[00:12:51.520]as we've kind of moved into talking more about soil
[00:12:55.810]biology, it's,
[00:12:59.230]it's difficult to measure and demonstrate soil biological properties in a way
[00:13:04.210]that is, cost-effective and efficient.
[00:13:09.520]most of the methods for assessing soil biological properties are largely
[00:13:14.140]laboratory-based.
[00:13:15.100]So you've probably heard of the [inaudible] fatty acid
[00:13:19.960]test, the Haney test, soil respiration, and,
[00:13:24.270]and these are all really good analysis tools.
[00:13:29.290]but what,
[00:13:30.210]what we find in our research is that we often can't sample and test
[00:13:35.020]those factors in our soil often enough,
[00:13:40.030]at a price that we can afford with our research.
[00:13:42.460]So those aren't once a year type of tests that can tell you,
[00:13:47.530]you know, your soil is great or your soil is not great. They're, they're more,
[00:13:51.820]they're more an indicator of change if you can monitor them over time.
[00:13:56.890]And particularly when we're doing a research study where we have, you know,
[00:14:01.540]20 some plots, that's a lot of that's,
[00:14:05.530]that's pretty high cost for us to do,
[00:14:07.810]those types of tests on a repeated
[00:14:12.310]basis on that many plots. And so those prices on those tests, you know,
[00:14:17.170]30 to $50. but I, again, I said, you know,
[00:14:21.940]most valuable when they're repeated several times a year.
[00:14:25.450]So in our work we've been looking at other methods of,
[00:14:30.640]understanding soil, biological properties.
[00:14:33.760]And I want to talk about a couple of, of those,
[00:14:37.120]that we've been developing in kind of what we see out of our research.
[00:14:41.740]So this first one that we've been working with for quite some time
[00:14:46.480]is looking at degradation of a cotton fabric and soil.
[00:14:50.930]So if you've paid attention to saw health education at any point in the
[00:14:55.910]last several years,
[00:14:56.570]you've probably seen people talk about the tidy Whitey test or the underwear
[00:15:01.100]test. And so a pair of,
[00:15:03.560]or multiple pairs of cotton underpants are buried in soil.
[00:15:09.050]maybe one soil is the no-till with cover crops and the other is a conventional
[00:15:12.980]tillage without cover crops. And over time, those,
[00:15:17.120]those different pairs of underwear are dug up and you see a
[00:15:21.830]marked difference in the degradation of the fabric sometimes.
[00:15:26.390]all you find is that polyester waistband.
[00:15:28.770]So the cotton fabric itself has been very well degraded, and that's,
[00:15:33.080]that's an indication that there's,
[00:15:36.650]a lot of oil, biological activity,
[00:15:40.100]those soil organisms are consuming the carbon that's in that cotton fabric,
[00:15:45.170]as a food source. And so it's,
[00:15:47.620]it's a good indication that you have a lot of,
[00:15:49.710]of activity in the soil that's beneficial.
[00:15:53.090]what we have found is that's a really good visual tool,
[00:15:56.480]but can we use it in a, in a way that we really,
[00:16:01.130]can get a better understanding of rate of degradation or,
[00:16:05.060]total degradation over a period of time.
[00:16:08.000]And the only way we can see to do that is to have that fabric be and
[00:16:12.620]measured piece that we can then analyze before and after and look at
[00:16:16.250]degradation. So, as you see up here in the corner,
[00:16:20.960]this is what we've been working with. up in the right-hand corner,
[00:16:25.520]we put our fabric cotton fabric samples that are measured
[00:16:30.830]at these mashed bags and place them in the soil,
[00:16:35.630]over time and go back and collect those.
[00:16:37.520]And then on the left is what the fabric looks like when it's
[00:16:42.050]collected. And this is a piece that's not degraded, a whole heck of a lot,
[00:16:46.400]but you can see, quite a bit of degradation. And so we've looked at,
[00:16:51.440]visual methods or,
[00:16:54.380]computer vision methods to analyze total degradation and overall
[00:16:59.240]we've had pretty good results doing that. I know, Gary lesson,
[00:17:03.530]we've sent him some of these sample bags to put out in insights,
[00:17:08.270]to demonstrate fabric degradation as a, as a biological property.
[00:17:13.490]but the other, the other thing we're trying to look at is, you know,
[00:17:17.330]can we equate that degradation to some other properties in soil that are,
[00:17:22.430]that are important. And so the other one that we've,
[00:17:26.000]been looking at is evaluating the,
[00:17:30.320]population of arthropods in the soil.
[00:17:32.750]So arthropods are your, oh,
[00:17:37.520]mites and, other little,
[00:17:42.340]laid critters spiders, that are active in the soil.
[00:17:47.300]These are the organisms that are, eating the carbon material,
[00:17:51.690]breaking it down, making that,
[00:17:54.570]organic nutrient into an inorganic form that plants can use.
[00:17:58.920]And so the greater your abundance and diversity of these organisms in the
[00:18:03.840]soil, the better you can,
[00:18:07.890]you can say that your soil quality is because you got a lot of,
[00:18:11.100]of good stuff happening there in the soil.
[00:18:13.560]And so for this particular work,
[00:18:17.160]we go out and we collect soil cores that are about the size of a coffee can 20
[00:18:21.240]centimeters by 20 centimeters.
[00:18:23.310]And we bring them back to the lab and put them in these burlesque,
[00:18:26.340]the funnels that you see on the screen. Oops,
[00:18:30.990]sorry about that.
[00:18:33.460]so these burlesque funnels they're set up so that we shine a light on the top of
[00:18:38.430]the soil and down below, which you really can't see in the picture. There's,
[00:18:43.770]there's a glass of jar. I don't know if you can see my mouse here on the screen.
[00:18:46.920]Each one of these has a glass jar underneath of it.
[00:18:49.380]That's screwed onto the bottom of here.
[00:18:51.930]And what happens is organisms in the soil.
[00:18:55.140]Don't like the heat and the drying that occurs because of the light.
[00:18:58.080]And so they start to move down through the soil and they eventually fall through
[00:19:02.220]a screened area here and into these jars,
[00:19:06.810]where they're preserved in ethanol.
[00:19:08.970]And so we then go back and look at those samples and pick for them and
[00:19:13.800]identify the different types of organisms that were in that soil.
[00:19:17.730]how many have many different kinds of organisms? And we come up with,
[00:19:22.560]kind of, a score that's based on, the number,
[00:19:27.780]the, the variability in the types of organisms and the development of those
[00:19:31.860]organisms. So it's kind of a lengthy and,
[00:19:35.040]and it's very lengthy process.
[00:19:38.430]but it gives us a good idea of what's what's living in that soil.
[00:19:43.020]And so just, kind of some of our findings, just from this past summer,
[00:19:48.150]we, we finished a study. We were looking at, plots that received,
[00:19:53.070]inorganic fertilizer versus crop plots that received,
[00:19:58.320]swine manure applied at a rate to meet nitrogen
[00:20:03.780]ins of the crop or pre-season nitrogen needs of the crop.
[00:20:07.290]And then the other plots were received that nitrogen,
[00:20:10.560]from swine manure as well, but also had, Cedar wood chips,
[00:20:14.940]surface applied after that manure was applied. So here's some of the,
[00:20:19.800]individual critters, I guess,
[00:20:21.960]that we found in that soil and why they, why they matter,
[00:20:27.390]to our assessment of the soil quality.
[00:20:30.570]So mites are,
[00:20:33.150]mites are a really important organism in soil. They, they have a,
[00:20:38.730]a lot of their activities are indirectly related
[00:20:44.130]to some of the soil processes.
[00:20:45.390]Sometimes they serve as a food source for some of the larger organisms that,
[00:20:49.420]that, actually are responsible for aggregation and, and,
[00:20:55.000]other other qualities of the soil, but might, they contribute to nuclear,
[00:20:59.650]nutrient cycling, soil aggregate formation,
[00:21:03.640]pest control. And so they're, they're considered a good indicator of,
[00:21:08.860]so biological quality.
[00:21:11.950]And so we did identify,
[00:21:15.250]mites in all of our samples over a summer, over a growing period.
[00:21:20.050]but we saw a lot more of them,
[00:21:22.180]a significant significantly greater amount of these in the
[00:21:27.010]plots that had swine manure applied, followed by woodchips.
[00:21:32.470]So SSW is our swine swine slur and wood chip application
[00:21:38.350]for Columbia. these,
[00:21:40.750]these are big players in the soil,
[00:21:44.950]macro aggregation game. So they,
[00:21:49.660]having Columbia populations in the soil is a good thing.
[00:21:52.510]You can expect to see changes in your aggregate stability of soil.
[00:21:57.280]And we know that that reduces erosion of soil particles from the
[00:22:01.690]surface.
[00:22:03.700]we also know that we want to see a higher,
[00:22:09.320]ratio of mites to Columbia.
[00:22:13.480]So they're both good. They're both good organisms, but having more,
[00:22:17.620]more mites than these Columbia is a as a good,
[00:22:21.160]indicator of soil quality and stability of the habitat in that soil. And so,
[00:22:25.930]again, in our plots from this past summer,
[00:22:30.010]we saw good,
[00:22:32.560]populations of these two organisms in all of our, our plots,
[00:22:36.280]but in the plots receiving swine slurry,
[00:22:39.490]followed by which ships the ratio was, was the best in that,
[00:22:44.410]among those, those plots that received that treatment. And then finally,
[00:22:49.660]some Fila, these are little organisms that feed on plant roots.
[00:22:54.640]they're a bad thing you don't,
[00:22:57.190]you would rather see those numbers be low because they're detrimental to plant
[00:23:01.030]roots, can be a big pest problem if they're not controlled.
[00:23:05.530]And what we found is that these,
[00:23:08.530]the abundance of these organisms was the lowest in our treatments receiving
[00:23:13.060]swine slurry and wood chips.
[00:23:16.570]they were a little bit higher in our swines FLIR,
[00:23:18.670]and then they were the highest in our control,
[00:23:20.440]which was our inorganic fertilizer. So,
[00:23:23.890]so we found significant increases in the good organisms and significant
[00:23:27.700]decreases in the,
[00:23:30.580]less desirable organisms when we use that combination of swine
[00:23:35.080]slurry and wood chips.
[00:23:37.510]And one of the reasons I think that we saw this,
[00:23:41.410]more so in the swine slurry with wood chips versus just the wood chips,
[00:23:45.290]those wood chips are a great source of carbon,
[00:23:47.000]but they're hard to break down that carbon's a lot, you know,
[00:23:50.360]a lot of cellulose.
[00:23:52.430]So if we have a nitrogen source like manure combined with those wood
[00:23:57.050]chips, you get a much quicker process just like we do in composting,
[00:24:01.850]right. We want to see a nitrogen and carbon ratio that,
[00:24:05.990]that doesn't inhibit, organism growth and,
[00:24:09.700]and the activities of those organisms that break down
[00:24:15.440]the trail and conflict as piles. So,
[00:24:20.720]and what chips, and we've done quite a bit of work with, cattlemen neuron.
[00:24:24.050]Woodchips those seem to be good combinations for,
[00:24:27.500]providing a nutrient source from the manure,
[00:24:30.110]providing some ground cover that protects soil from erosion and,
[00:24:33.170]wind erosion and water erosion,
[00:24:35.720]and increasing our organic matter in the soil.
[00:24:38.840]since the maneuver helps us widgets break down a little bit more over time. So,
[00:24:43.310]I didn't get into,
[00:24:46.430]in this presentation, the,
[00:24:50.270]rates about application of wind chips and that I don't show those,
[00:24:53.870]but we're w most of our work has been,
[00:24:56.810]we've applied around 10 to 20 tons per acre of wood chips.
[00:25:01.490]And so if there's questions about that, we can talk more at the end, but,
[00:25:05.060]but that's kind of a, an overview what we
[00:25:11.270]have been findings. So,
[00:25:16.160]I guess to summarize
[00:25:21.410]at a combination manure,
[00:25:24.440]which seems to positively impact soil,
[00:25:29.930]it do, is to support visits and,
[00:25:35.180]other or, care,
[00:25:39.320]as a rule of thumb when manure is used in that system.
[00:25:41.360]And we increase the diversity of our organisms, those soils,
[00:25:45.620]those ecosystems that have more diversity tend to be more
[00:25:50.600]resistant to disturbances, things like,
[00:25:55.640]you know, high winds that might've road
[00:26:00.650]soil, or,
[00:26:05.490]so they're able to stand,
[00:26:06.960]they're able to have greater resistance to some of those negative impacts.
[00:26:10.050]They also have greater resilience, which over time means they,
[00:26:13.500]they recover more quickly from those stresses. So,
[00:26:18.150]I know a lot of times it's hard to look past this crop year and
[00:26:22.800]what we're looking at for yields and input costs.
[00:26:27.240]but I think it's important to remember as you are managing
[00:26:32.250]that land. It's, it's not a year to year.
[00:26:35.310]If you're not managing it for a single year,
[00:26:37.170]you're managing it for the lifetime. That, that, that soil is,
[00:26:41.940]providing income as, as, you know,
[00:26:44.570]production area and hopefully being passed down to your next generation.
[00:26:48.960]And so I think looking at this long term resilience and how we can
[00:26:53.910]improve the quality of that soil and the productivity of that land over time is
[00:26:58.710]important as well. So while we don't see immediate changes,
[00:27:01.470]sometimes we might see a yield bump,
[00:27:03.510]but we don't really see what's going on below the soil surface when we implement
[00:27:07.650]a lot of these, soil management practices,
[00:27:12.960]that, that positive, impact is, is multiplying over time.
[00:27:17.880]And, and, you know,
[00:27:18.690]this is a marathon rather than a sprint to improve soil quality.
[00:27:22.200]We didn't degrade it over a season or two. We're not going to rebuild it to,
[00:27:27.630]optimal conditions in the season or two, but I think this idea of resilience,
[00:27:32.280]improving over time is really important to keep in mind.
[00:27:39.840]so again, maneuvers rolling water, soil management, greater soil,
[00:27:44.100]aggregate stability, means we have reduced runoff and erosion,
[00:27:49.530]less, less opportunity to carry,
[00:27:52.860]contaminants from the soil surface to water bodies and organic
[00:27:57.690]nitrogen and manure, breaks down over time.
[00:28:02.190]So it's less prone to leaching than inorganic nitrogen fertilizer.
[00:28:06.490]So inorganic fertilizer,
[00:28:07.800]when it's put on it either needs to be used by the plants, or,
[00:28:12.870]when there's rainfall, it's, it's going to move down through the soil profile,
[00:28:16.650]whereas organic nitrogen, is more,
[00:28:20.190]it's going to break down over time and be available in smaller doses and more
[00:28:24.120]likely, available for those fans to use when it's, when it's needed.
[00:28:32.910]So maneuvers rolling crop management, obviously we've talked about,
[00:28:36.840]a yield potential yield increases, but,
[00:28:41.640]you know, producing a healthy and cost efficient crop,
[00:28:45.390]improving the environmental sustainability of that, of that land over time,
[00:28:50.130]is kind of the,
[00:28:52.890]the main theme I guess, of, of today's meeting is,
[00:28:57.690]is how do we improve,
[00:29:00.720]improve our productivity and resilience over time on our land.
[00:29:04.590]And so I think there's definitely,
[00:29:07.890]excellent opportunities to improve,
[00:29:12.930]return on investment or,
[00:29:15.390]or input costs by using manure as a fertilizer,
[00:29:20.220]for livestock operations.
[00:29:22.170]They certainly need to have those markets available for that manure.
[00:29:27.300]but for crop producers, you know,
[00:29:31.380]it's important to think about the value that is in that manure.
[00:29:34.470]And I have a lot of producers tell me, you know, their,
[00:29:38.250]their neighbors didn't really like the idea of this new swine operation going up
[00:29:43.030]next to them, when they first built it. And then they started seeing,
[00:29:47.770]how much that, that livestock farmers,
[00:29:52.990]corn was, was greener and taller and more lush. And they,
[00:29:58.030]you know, they heard they were getting better, yields on that land,
[00:30:01.180]where they were using the manure slurry.
[00:30:02.830]And then some of those neighbors started thinking maybe,
[00:30:05.650]maybe that's not such a bad thing,
[00:30:07.000]because that if that manure is available to me,
[00:30:10.480]it seems to do good things for the crop land. And so,
[00:30:15.070]a lot of those livestock producers, if they have,
[00:30:18.040]if they own enough land to utilize the manure themselves,
[00:30:20.560]they're in pretty good shape. Cause they, they want that manure if they can.
[00:30:24.610]if they have an opportunity to transfer it offsite because they don't have
[00:30:27.970]enough land to utilize it, then it's, it can really be a benefit to,
[00:30:31.840]the neighbors. I put some data on here from a Missouri,
[00:30:36.520]university of Missouri study, 4,800 head grow,
[00:30:40.810]finish hog operation.
[00:30:43.390]so a modern operation where they're using, you know,
[00:30:47.650]diets to really meet the nutrient needs of the animal without,
[00:30:51.730]having excessive phosphorus, excretion.
[00:30:55.630]they could meet the fertilizer needs of two sections of land in a corn soybean
[00:31:00.400]rotation with that manure.
[00:31:04.030]they were able to reduce,
[00:31:06.880]purchase of inorganic fertilizer and actually ended up with a
[00:31:10.840]$25,000 or return on assets.
[00:31:16.240]and so they not only were they getting the value of the manure,
[00:31:19.330]they were replacing inorganic fertilizer that they would typically buy and they
[00:31:23.110]were getting greater yields. And so all of that together, was a,
[00:31:27.940]significant, economic benefit to those farms.
[00:31:34.420]So as a crop farmer,
[00:31:38.380]you are not,
[00:31:39.850]you don't fall under the same rules and regulations as a livestock farmer when
[00:31:44.230]it comes to using manure. So with a livestock operation,
[00:31:48.040]if they're operating with a permit from the state, they have,
[00:31:52.870]reporting requirements, nutrient management plan,
[00:31:57.340]requirements. They have to follow a certain setbacks of,
[00:32:00.880]of how they apply manure, where they apply it.
[00:32:03.790]And once manure is Tran transferred from that
[00:32:08.860]livestock farm to a crop farm,
[00:32:11.410]as long as the livestock farmer doesn't have any big thing to do with
[00:32:14.680]determining application right on that crop farm. So it's really a transfer.
[00:32:18.340]Here's the manure, you take it and do with it,
[00:32:20.410]what you want that crop farmer doesn't fall under the same
[00:32:24.790]restrictions,
[00:32:26.410]but we still want caught farmers to what we say as minder manure
[00:32:31.180]manners, right? So even though there's no, regulatory,
[00:32:35.860]there's no reporting requirement,
[00:32:37.540]nobody's kind of looking a nutrient management plan to make sure you know,
[00:32:41.300]that those are being used, right. We want to make sure that you are,
[00:32:45.560]following setbacks, best management practices to reduce,
[00:32:49.160]losses of those nutrients to, to surface water, be a runoff.
[00:32:54.050]so protecting water quality, we want to see manure used in a timely fashion.
[00:32:57.920]So if it stockpiled from a beef feed lot on the side of the field,
[00:33:02.960]you know, use that in a timely manner. And,
[00:33:06.440]otherwise you're losing a lot of the nutrients that are in it.
[00:33:09.210]You're gonna lose nitrogen to the atmosphere and that reduces the value of that
[00:33:12.950]product. so these are just some of the,
[00:33:16.070]pieces of content that we've put out better,
[00:33:20.000]references for land owners that receipt received livestock manure, from,
[00:33:24.890]from a livestock operation. And, we want to see, you know,
[00:33:28.950]being a good neighbor and maximizing the value of that manure if you're
[00:33:32.480]purchasing it.
[00:33:34.190]we wanna see you putting it on the fields where it's giving you the most
[00:33:36.740]benefit. And so that brings us to,
[00:33:41.090]talking a little bit about what audiences understand and value as benefits
[00:33:46.040]of machineries and barrier. So if you've used manure for some time,
[00:33:51.110]you are probably in that, in that group,
[00:33:53.030]that would say there's a lot of benefits, but if you haven't,
[00:33:56.120]there's some barriers that are keeping you from doing that.
[00:33:58.280]And so we want to understand those better so that,
[00:34:01.250]as a mineral management team, we can help address those and,
[00:34:05.870]improve producer confidence in using manure as a fertilizer.
[00:34:10.250]And so this is a survey that we did, year and a half ago.
[00:34:15.320]we got almost a thousand responses from throughout the U S some India,
[00:34:19.520]Canada, our target audience was crop and livestock farmers.
[00:34:23.240]And any of those professionals who advise farmers.
[00:34:26.150]So this included extension professionals,
[00:34:30.440]conservation and regulatory agency personnel,
[00:34:34.910]private consultants, crop advisors, those types of audiences.
[00:34:39.500]And,
[00:34:41.270]about 60% of the responses we got were from advisors who were not,
[00:34:46.400]not Cropper livestock farmers on top of that.
[00:34:49.490]So they were just advisors and then the other 40% were combinations.
[00:34:53.030]Maybe they had livestock and crops. Maybe they were just,
[00:34:56.000]a crop farmer who also served as a crop advisor,
[00:35:00.110]some of their combinations. So keep that in mind,
[00:35:02.960]as we're looking at the results, we ultimately wanted to figure out,
[00:35:07.460]how farmers and their advisors feel about using manure and cropping systems.
[00:35:11.390]So we first,
[00:35:14.390]first wanted to ask questions to figure out where,
[00:35:17.760]those crop and livestock farmers in those advisors currently stand in terms of
[00:35:22.370]their perceived knowledge and understanding of some of the different impacts of
[00:35:26.360]manure. And so this shows, in the center here is,
[00:35:30.440]is the crop farmers responses.
[00:35:32.210]And on the right side is livestock farmer responses. And when we,
[00:35:37.380]them questions about crop, fertility and nutrition,
[00:35:42.240]what we have 90, 95% here, and,
[00:35:47.310]94% over here said they were moderately to very knowledgeable about those
[00:35:52.020]topics. So they seemed confident about understanding crop,
[00:35:55.410]fertility and nutrition, factors associated with using manure.
[00:36:00.360]They also rated themselves, to have very,
[00:36:03.690]very good knowledge of how many impacts soil, physical properties and soil,
[00:36:07.200]biological properties, crop yields as well.
[00:36:11.490]and they rated themselves high on, on their knowledge of,
[00:36:15.000]environmental quality associated with the use of
[00:36:19.560]livestock manure.
[00:36:22.140]We also asked advisors to indicate what they believe to be levels of knowledge
[00:36:26.460]on these topics among the crop and livestock farmers that they work with.
[00:36:31.560]So, so the,
[00:36:34.110]so this set of data shows what advisors perceive farmers to know.
[00:36:39.510]and so it's kind of interesting, and I,
[00:36:41.730]I've spoken at a couple of crop advisor clinics and ask them to, you know,
[00:36:45.550]ask the people like, why do you think, you know, do you agree with this? Or why,
[00:36:49.400]why would this be, cause we can only really speculate on why they, you know,
[00:36:53.970]for instance, 40, 44% of advisors,
[00:36:59.220]rated farmers as very or moderately knowledgeable of how many are impacts.
[00:37:02.850]So physical properties while a farmers themselves,
[00:37:07.020]we had 88% of crop farmers and,
[00:37:10.950]81% of livestock farmers said I'm moderately to very knowledgeable.
[00:37:15.180]So there seems to be a little bit of difference in what crop and livestock
[00:37:18.510]farmers,
[00:37:19.770]believe their knowledges versus what advisors believe the knowledge of those
[00:37:24.120]farmers is. so it's just kind of interesting,
[00:37:27.600]to look at some of those comparisons and, try to better understand,
[00:37:33.330]why the advisors maybe don't think the farmers know as much as the farmers think
[00:37:38.070]they do. So you might, you might ask your advisor,
[00:37:42.300]if you think she know your business, as well as he does,
[00:37:45.180]it could be an interest in conversation.
[00:37:50.730]we also asked,
[00:37:53.250]is manure harmful or helpful or so is it,
[00:37:56.400]is it beneficial or harmful to these different, factors?
[00:37:59.640]So overwhelmingly, among all the respondents,
[00:38:03.780]farmers and advisers, they said, yeah, you know,
[00:38:06.210]manure is at least slightly beneficial to crop fertility and nutrition.
[00:38:11.460]80 per,
[00:38:13.860]90% said it's manures at least slightly beneficial to
[00:38:18.570]soil, physical properties,
[00:38:20.280]similar results for soil biological and similar results for crop yields.
[00:38:24.420]But what was interesting is when we talked about environmental quality,
[00:38:27.870]which we mainly talked about water quality,
[00:38:30.720]we call it environmental quality on this, on this graph,
[00:38:33.360]but we were asking questions about a water quality.
[00:38:37.300]Most of the respondents,
[00:38:39.130]weren't really sure that manure had any been sensitive
[00:38:44.080]to environmental quality and 32% thought it was at least slightly harmful to
[00:38:48.490]water quality. And I think that's interesting,
[00:38:52.180]because to me it says there's not a good connection that we've made between
[00:38:57.310]physical and biological properties being good and how those impact water
[00:39:02.050]quality. So we've, we've talked,
[00:39:04.330]I've talked throughout this presentation and you've probably heard others talk
[00:39:08.320]today about better soil quality means less erosion and
[00:39:12.670]runoff, greater nutrient cycling, less leeching of nutrients.
[00:39:17.950]And that's exactly what we're talking about with water quality, but we,
[00:39:21.120]we tend to think poorly of manure
[00:39:26.140]probably because,
[00:39:28.870]we've seen a lot of cases of over application of manure, not following,
[00:39:33.850]proper setbacks, not applying it rates that,
[00:39:38.500]that were beneficial to the crop and not beyond what those crops
[00:39:43.030]needed. And when we hear those stories about manure runoff,
[00:39:47.950]contaminating water, that's what sticks with us.
[00:39:51.520]So I think it's really important to remember the,
[00:39:55.840]and I'm going to skip over this one real quick, to save a little time.
[00:39:59.110]But I think it's really important to remember if we're improving soil proper and
[00:40:04.390]we're following best management practices for manure or inorganic fertilizers,
[00:40:08.620]either one, there are water quality benefits, we're improving the soil,
[00:40:13.180]we're still adding nutrients to it,
[00:40:14.620]but we're keeping those nutrients where the plants can use them versus seeing
[00:40:18.580]them run off, in the liquid or,
[00:40:22.420]erode with the solids.
[00:40:24.370]And so bridging this gap is something that we're working on with our programming
[00:40:29.120]to better connect the soil properties, to the improved,
[00:40:33.730]water quality benefits,
[00:40:37.150]real quickly among the farmers and advisors who regularly used or,
[00:40:42.760]or recommended fertilizer.
[00:40:45.250]The majority think that manure and fertilizer compliment each other.
[00:40:48.250]And I think that's important as I mentioned earlier,
[00:40:50.260]we definitely don't think manure's the only fertilizer that farmers,
[00:40:54.700]but the idea of using manure to meet needs and supplementing with
[00:40:59.560]inorganic fertilizer, is certainly,
[00:41:03.820]we think of beneficial practice in, and it looks like our,
[00:41:07.930]audience members out there from the survey. Agree with that. So,
[00:41:13.180]I'm gonna, I'm going to skip over this slide as well.
[00:41:16.240]These are challenges to manure using propping systems that we identified in the
[00:41:19.810]survey. we can come back to these if you have some questions,
[00:41:23.650]but for the sake of time, since we started a little bit late, we'll move on.
[00:41:28.690]so like I said,
[00:41:30.460]we're more focused now on not explaining what's in manure and
[00:41:35.390]why it's good, but helping farmers,
[00:41:38.420]make decisions about manure application.
[00:41:42.170]so that they'd get the most value out of that manure.
[00:41:45.350]And so we have an activity, some of you may have seen this already.
[00:41:49.100]We teach this at our land application trainings. And essentially what we do is,
[00:41:53.720]is our participants sit around the table. We have a map of an area,
[00:41:58.280]that's, you know,
[00:42:01.790]area that is representing where we're teaching us.
[00:42:04.430]So if we're out on the west side of Nebraska, we use a map that is,
[00:42:09.380]from out there and it has different soil types and it has different,
[00:42:13.010]typography and precipitation, data, climate data, and everything.
[00:42:17.690]But we go through a number of scenarios. you know,
[00:42:20.870]if we want to maximize the nutrient value of that manure,
[00:42:24.290]here's our fields that we have.
[00:42:26.570]here's the crops that we're going to be growing.
[00:42:28.130]Here's what our soil tests look like. Let's think through.
[00:42:32.300]I have a field half a mile from me that I could apply to.
[00:42:35.120]So it saves me on transportation costs,
[00:42:39.410]but I have a field. but that field is, is high and fosters. You know,
[00:42:43.580]if it's next to us,
[00:42:44.720]livestock operations probably gotten a lot of maneuver over the years,
[00:42:48.110]so we're not getting any value out of the phosphorus that's in our manure,
[00:42:51.140]if we apply it there. So we really can only account for that, the nitrogen,
[00:42:55.570]value of that fertilizer. Maybe we go two miles away. So,
[00:43:00.440]you know, a little bit higher transportation costs,
[00:43:02.900]but we have a field where we're going to use the nitrogen,
[00:43:06.260]the phosphorous is needed, the potassium is needed.
[00:43:10.430]and so we can get the value of all three of those fertilizer,
[00:43:15.920]components from that manure by traveling a little farther. So we,
[00:43:20.090]those types of scenarios where we talk about, you know, the things that,
[00:43:25.010]you know, well, this one is near a neighbor. You,
[00:43:29.270]it tends to be more sensitive to odors.
[00:43:31.850]if I go another half mile this direction, I'm not going to bother that neighbor.
[00:43:36.650]Maybe that soil is, or the next crop is, is,
[00:43:41.630]more likely going to need the potassium that I'm applying or,
[00:43:45.130]or more likely to remove phosphorus. So it's a better option.
[00:43:49.730]and so this is a training that's required of,
[00:43:53.720]permitted livestock operations in the state.
[00:43:56.120]At least somebody from their operation has to go through this training if
[00:43:59.990]they're managing land application of manure.
[00:44:04.190]but we would love to see more crop producers there who are thinking about using
[00:44:08.300]manure and, and going through so many scenarios and helping,
[00:44:12.350]understand where,
[00:44:13.580]where can I use manure and really get the most benefit out of it.
[00:44:17.990]so I put up here just a list of our upcoming trainings.
[00:44:20.570]We do these every spring and we do a tour around the state and offer
[00:44:25.400]these at several locations so that we can accommodate all of our permitted
[00:44:29.990]livestock operations. So, I'll put this slide up again at the end,
[00:44:34.620]if you want to, look at, Verbeck,
[00:44:39.900]I'll wrap up with just some of the key messages.
[00:44:42.540]what I think are key takeaway takeaways from the research we've been doing and,
[00:44:46.500]and, and some of the research that others have been doing,
[00:44:51.000]first of all, manure positively impacts,
[00:44:56.190]soil,
[00:44:57.960]quality and its ability to withstand different disturbances.
[00:45:01.890]And it includes resilience. So the long-term,
[00:45:06.870]ability of that soil to recover from stressors,
[00:45:12.120]when we use the money we're according to best management practices.
[00:45:15.060]And that to me is the key. We have,
[00:45:18.360]lower risks of erosion and runoff of contaminants to surface water.
[00:45:22.920]So, like I said, we often get a bad rap,
[00:45:26.610]for manure because it's associated with,
[00:45:30.030]with surface water pollution,
[00:45:32.010]but the key there is to be using it according to best management practices and
[00:45:36.690]it's to the farmers advantage to follow those practices as well,
[00:45:40.140]and get the most value,
[00:45:41.130]not over apply the manure and put on nutrients that the plants
[00:45:45.980]don't need. and then there's no value in those. So,
[00:45:51.150]the body of research out there supports the assertion that organic fertilizers
[00:45:55.260]tend to reduce pest risks in cropping systems, more than inorganic fertilizers.
[00:46:00.660]So we have a lot of positive, aspects of using manure.
[00:46:05.910]our role as educators is to try to help producers overcome some of those
[00:46:10.560]barriers. So the, the transportation costs the,
[00:46:15.300]determining how much
[00:46:18.180]to put on to make sure that the nutrients there are available to the crops,
[00:46:21.960]so that we don't, we don't under apply any nutrients,
[00:46:24.540]but overall our, our motto for the team has kind of become manure,
[00:46:29.340]happens, make the most of it.
[00:46:31.500]And we want to help farmers make the most of manure, understand where it's,
[00:46:36.090]it's going to benefit them the most, economically and,
[00:46:40.230]regarding their soil quality, environmental quality and crop productivity. So,
[00:46:44.820]so our, our efforts going forward are connected to helping,
[00:46:50.070]make that connection between improving soil with manure and reducing runoff and
[00:46:53.700]erosion losses,
[00:46:55.650]kind of getting rid of the bad reputation that manure might have.
[00:47:00.930]so with that, I'm going to wrap up,
[00:47:03.570]I've put my contact information here,
[00:47:05.580]so I'll stay on this slide for just a moment, but then,
[00:47:08.460]if we want to do some questions, I'll switch to the,
[00:47:11.400]list of our upcoming training program, locations and dates.
[00:47:16.110]and I would,
[00:47:17.670]I would love to see some properties there that are there because I want to learn
[00:47:20.280]more about it, using trends efficiently,
[00:47:24.360]as opposed to just being there,
[00:47:26.730]because they have to for an operating permit. So thank you very much.
[00:47:32.200]hope I didn't go too far over and I'll go ahead and switch to the slide and take
[00:47:35.830]questions if you have them.
[00:47:38.350]Thanks, Amy. Why don't we give Amy a round of applause? Thanks.
[00:47:43.270]Okay. why don't we take one question here from the crowd,
[00:47:46.780]and I don't know if we have any online, but, you had a question for me.
[00:47:51.580]I read recently that the biofuels industry is.
[00:47:55.930]I am not hearing you guys, if you are talking to me
[00:48:02.770]First,
[00:48:03.040]I thought they were might just have emptied out while I was talking to us a
[00:48:06.010]little.
[00:48:06.160]Nervous there.
[00:48:09.400]I can hear you now. Okay, good.
[00:48:11.320]yeah,
[00:48:12.070]I read recently that the biofuels industry is utilizing manure as
[00:48:16.900]a source to make biofuels from, and I guess,
[00:48:21.340]increasing in that practice.
[00:48:22.990]So do you have any insight into how much of a threat that
[00:48:27.850]might become, for the availability for farmers of manure?
[00:48:34.780]Yeah, it's interesting. So if we think about here in Nebraska,
[00:48:40.150]where the bees stay, right, we have a lot of beef production.
[00:48:43.300]Those feed lot sources of manure are not great for energy
[00:48:48.010]production.
[00:48:49.210]And the main reason is that energy production comes from the organic fraction
[00:48:54.130]of manure. So when we think of a dairy farm that has a flush system,
[00:48:58.690]there's a lot, there's a lot of carbon,
[00:49:01.150]pretty decent concentration of nutrients and carbon in that manure.
[00:49:04.420]And not a lot of soil contamination.
[00:49:07.930]If they're a sand bedded operation,
[00:49:09.850]we got to get the sand out of there because it just clogs up the whole process,
[00:49:13.090]which we're digesting or otherwise,
[00:49:17.350]doing some sort of, fuel,
[00:49:20.680]generation from that manure beef from anywhere.
[00:49:23.200]It just has a lot of inorganic contaminants in it.
[00:49:26.710]If it's coming from a feedlot system,
[00:49:28.420]it's hard not to get soil when you scrape the manure.
[00:49:31.900]And so there's been quite a bit of,
[00:49:34.810]work and conversation and ideas about, digesting B feed,
[00:49:39.100]lot manure to generate, methane.
[00:49:43.120]And most of the work that I've seen in the work that I've done
[00:49:48.100]personally is it's just not a good system
[00:49:52.810]because we, we end up clogging up or, or,
[00:49:57.640]ruining that biological activity that we want inside of our digester,
[00:50:01.210]because there's too much inorganic material in there.
[00:50:06.490]on the other hand, we're seeing a lot more, confined beef operations.
[00:50:10.150]So during their deep bedded or a slurry slurry pit storage,
[00:50:15.670]and those I think are gonna,
[00:50:18.370]be good candidates for energy production because just like dairy systems,
[00:50:23.050]there's a lot of, a lot of carbon that's excreted in that,
[00:50:28.130]and that manure and it's a good concentration.
[00:50:32.840]So concentration not, not too much liquid in there.
[00:50:36.950]dairies to me are the kind of the ideal place to,
[00:50:41.360]to have a digester swine systems. We've seen digesters work,
[00:50:45.440]but honestly, there's, there's just a lot of,
[00:50:48.590]a lot higher moisture content and a lot less,
[00:50:52.790]degradable carbon in that material than what we see in like a beef slurry
[00:50:57.950]or a very slurry.
[00:51:01.610]So I guess I don't see that I don't see all of our money. We're going to,
[00:51:06.470]energy production anytime soon, at least in Nebraska.

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2022 Eastern Nebraska Soil Health Conference Presentations - Amy Schmidt

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