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On June 11, 2018

Although there are numerous possible benefits when slurry manure is injected, this method of applying manure has been slow to be adopted in PA. Extension Agronomist Ron Hoover reports manure injection has been studied extensively at Penn State and at numerous other land grant universities since the early 2000’s. More specifically, the research in recent years has focused on low-disturbance manure injection, frequently called shallow disk injection, which has been shown in research to be compatible with no-till cropping systems. When compared to broadcasted manure, injected manure reduces volatile losses of ammonia and other objectionable gases by up to 90%. Ammonia in liquid manure can be 30 to 50% of the nitrogen (N) in the manure. Also, due to increases in the amount of crop-available N when manure is injected, nutrient management plans will require a reduction in manure application rates. This will also result in fewer pounds of P being applied per acre, reducing the potential for soil P levels to become excessive in crop rotations where P removal by crop harvest is less than the amount being applied in manure. Additionally, manure placed under the field surface reduces the potential for manure and the nutrients in it to be carried into surface waters when rainfall is heavy and snow melt is rapid. Manure injection results in a marked increase in the amount of manure N available for future crop use, while improving neighbor relations due to large reductions in manure odor. However, specialized equipment must be added to manure tankers, and the process of injecting manure is somewhat slower than broadcasting. Both factors will increase the cost of manure spreading. However, if N is limiting on the farm, research has shown that the savings in N fertilizer required when manure is injected, can offset some, if not all of this additional cost.

 

However, the current dairy economy, coupled with a slightly higher cost associated with injecting manure compared to broadcasted manure, has resulted in reduced farmer interest for wanting to try manure injection on their farms.

Rapidly increasing interest in reducing losses of fertility nutrients and sediment into Chesapeake Bay waters has resulted in additional public funds being made available to encourage adoption of practices that have been proven to improve Bay water quality.  Sustainable Chesapeake was recently awarded a multi-year grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to encourage farmers whose operations generate any sort of liquid animal manure to consider manure injection.  The NFWF grant provides funds that are used to pay the cost difference between injecting and surface applying manure.  Agri-Applicators, Inc, headquartered in Lebanon, PA and Penn State extension are participating in the project.  Interested farmers can contact Leon Ressler (ljr6@psu.edu, 717-394-6851 )  or Ron Hoover (rjh7@psu.edu ) with Penn State extension for more information.  They can also reach Jeff Zimmerman of Agri-Applicators at (applicatorsjz@gmail.com or at 717-629-6456) directly to inquire directly about having some manure injected with one of 3 tankers equipped with manure injectors.

Our hope is that many farmers will take advantage of the opportunity to try manure injection, especially now that some of the cost of injecting will be covered with the above grant.  Several years ago, Are you interested in trying manure injection, especially now when some of the costs can be covered with the NFWF funding that is available?

The late spring greatly reduced the time available for manure hauling and planting this year.  However, there typically are several opportunities across the region for farmers who have some late manure to spread after the early spring hauling and planting rush.  Some possibilities could include fields where small grain is harvested late for forage.  A thinning hay field has its first cutting taken, with plans to rotate the field to some short-season corn or other summer annual or barley that will be harvested as high-moisture grain in coming weeks.

Farmers who are interested in possibly having some manure injected can contact Jeff Zimmerman directly, and questions about the practice and this project can be directed to program participants listed above.

 

To Attend The Farming For Success Field Day

 

Join us for Farming for Success, an agronomic field day for farmers, industry representatives, and other agricultural professionals. The field day promises to be an informative event featuring a wide range of crop production topics. Participants can see research plots in the field, learn from Penn State and Ag industry professionals, and visit with industry sponsors.

We hope you can join us Thursday July 21 at the Penn State Southeast Research and Extension Center,1446 Auction Road Manheim PA 17545.

Participants will choose from three different tracks based upon their interests. The Morning Keynote talk presented by Andrew Frakenfield is “So, You Want to Look at a New Enterprise”.  The Afternoon Keynote session will be “Business Ethics in Times of Economic Uncertainty”. There wil be tour stops and sessions. Participants can earn 5 Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) credits, 2.0 PA Nutrient Management Points, and 1.0 PA Manure Hauler Broker Points.

 

To register go to:  http://www.cvent.com/events/farming-for-success/event-summary-65473a27c36f453b94ea1f7df4669b8b.aspx?i=a289feb7-2f25-4a4f-81cb-dd624f49d3da

 

Quote Of The Week: “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” Abraham Lincoln