Exporting Feedlot Manure to Off-Farm Users

Authors

Richard K. Koelsch, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Keith Glewen, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Tom Trewhitt, Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality
Daniel T. Walters, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

January 2000

Comments

Published in Nebraska Beef Cattle Report 2000, published by Agricultural Research Division, University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension, and Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Abstract

A survey of Nebraska feedlots suggests the majority of feedlots do not export manure to off-farm customers despite a common lack of land base (owned or managed by the feedlot) for using the nitrogen and phosphorus in manure. Only a small portion of the feedlots in Nebraska are actively marketing manure as a product with value by packaging agronomic and nuisance avoidance services with the manure in an effort to enhance its value. A separate survey of manure users suggests that the reason users purchase manure was for its crop nutrient value. However, many users were uncomfortable relying on the nutrients in manure and so supplemented the manure with commercial fertilizer. End users need to be better able to determine manure’s nutrient value.