RED DEER – Testing manure samples in the laboratory can show the value of a natural resource.
Once the manure’s nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon and other mineral levels are measured, it can be applied at rates more useful to a crop.
“It depends how you apply it, where you apply it, the rate you use and the crop you grow afterwards to take advantage of those nutrients,” said Trevor Wallace, manure management specialist with Alberta Agriculture.
“Management creates value,” he said at a manure management conference held in Red Deer June 26-28.
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Combined with regular soil tests, manure sampling can help meet provincial application regulations, as well as provide greater benefits to crops and soil.
“If you do it right, it provides quite a bit of value,” said Dan Heaney of Norwest Laboratory in Edmonton.
Wallace and Heaney offered a number of tips when collecting samples.
The biggest problem is getting a representative sample from a pile or lagoon for proper analysis.
The best time to sample is during spreading, which does not do much good for that year. It is possible to use pans in the field to collect manure as it hits the ground. It is messy but offers a good representation of what is being applied.
“It’s a lot more difficult to collect a good manure sample than it is a good soil sample,” said Wallace.
When collecting samples, wear goggles and gloves because pathogens including salmonella and E. coli may be present. Sulfur dioxide near lagoons is a breathing hazard, so avoid getting too close.
Liquid manure samples can be collected in a plastic bottle attached to a pole. One sample for every 300,000 gallons in the lagoon is recommended. Mix the samples up and place in a sealed plastic container. Do not use glass bottles because they can break when shipped.
Avoid taking samples from the top 15-20 centimetres of the crust of a solid manure pile because that does not represent what is underneath. Samples can be collected in a pail. Three samples from a large pile is best. These need to be mixed together to gather one good sample.
After collection, the sample should be kept cool and should be shipped surrounded by with ice packs.
Samples may be frozen, but a note should be attached to the label because it will be handled differently in the lab. The label should also include your name, address and when and where it was collected.
Samples can be sent by courier. Most guarantee overnight delivery.
Lab analysis measures electrical conductivity – salt content, total nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon, as well as micronutrients.
