Some farmers are using manure slurry to fertilize crops

By TIM UNRUH

Salina Journal

LINN -- A 6-inch rubber hose is dipped into a lagoon at the Linn Willow Creek Dairy and hooked to a pump powered by a big diesel engine.

From there, the thick tube snakes two miles across pastures and cropland and through culverts under county roads. Another booster pump and engine is attached halfway.

The journey ends in a wheat stubble field, where the tube, filled with a natural concoction of animal waste, is attached to a big chisel (an implement used to break the soil and apply the manure) connected to a tractor.

The manure slurry -- courtesy this day of 1,400 dairy cows, other days from thousands of pigs -- is divided into six smaller tubes on the chisel. Those lead to the back of corresponding chisels that will open the earth 8 inches to a foot deep.

There, the cocktail of nitrogen, phosphorous and a bunch of other nutrients that are scrumptious to crops, is injected where the roots of wheat, corn, milo or soybeans will flourish during the growing season.

The manure is recycled -- at a rate of up to 8,000 gallons an acre for hog manure, and possibly more for dairy manure (because it's less concentrated) -- to make more food.

"It's got everything in one package," said farmer Brad Ohlde, 34, of Linn.

He's among a growing number of producers in the Washington County area who have seized a source of fertilizer that was once considered a nuisance.

Many are encouraging more manure production by building pig barns, luring producers to the area.

"For a long time, they were just giving it away," said Scott Bokelman, of Washington, a farmer and a banker for Marysville-based Frontier Farm Credit.

It can boost yields

Now it's replacing man-made fertilizers, such as anhydrous ammonia, which is made from fossil fuels. Much of it is imported into the United States.

Animal waste is boosting the yield potential of crops -- for example, 10 to 15 bushels more wheat to the acre, Ohlde said -- at a lower cost than commercial fertilizers.

Bokelman plans to test manure's performance this spring by planting a field of corn for ensilage. Half of the field will be commercially fertilized and the other half will be fertilized with pig manure.

"I'm expecting at least a 10 percent increase in yield where I use pig manure," he said.

For the test, Bokelman said, applying the hog manure cost him $35 an acre, and he spent $75 an acre for anhydrous.

Washington County is following the lead of swine- and dairy-laden states such as Iowa and Nebraska, returning traditional barnyard critters to the total agricultural system.

Ohlde farms 1,700 acres, and more than half is fertilized with manure from four barns on his land where pigs are fed, and the dairy cooperative where he is a part owner.

Pits under each two-barn site have the capacity to hold 1 million gallons of animal waste, Ohlde said, and they typically collect enough in a year to fertilize 150 acres.

More popular, expensive

Manure is becoming more popular, and expensive, said Steve Henry, an Abilene veterinarian and a world renowned swine expert. Iowa State University estimated the annual manure collections from a 1,200-head finishing barn, like Ohlde's, is worth more than $50,000, compared to $17,500 two years ago.

A number of farmers have built pig barns, not planning to raise pigs, Henry said.

In a sense, they're apartment complexes, Henry said.

"We're going to get rent, and we get the poop," he said, playing the role of the farmer/barn owner/landlord.

The pig owner takes care of the feed, medical care and management.

"We will get the equipment and take care of the waste supply and apply it in accordance with the rules of Kansas," Henry said.

Business arrangements vary from farm to farm. In Ohlde's case, he hires on to take care of the pigs in his four barns, requiring about 90 minutes of work every day.

"I watch the hogs, care for them. That's part of the contract," Ohlde said.

The labor adds to his rental checks, and allows him to be a full-time farmer.

"I don't have to have another job," he said.

Married with three young children, Ohlde said the pig barns may allow his farm to endure beyond his generation.

Pipes yes, honey wagon no

The application process also varies. Ohlde prefers stringing out the miles of rubber hose over pulling a trailer -- a "honey wagon" -- over the field. The weight of the trailers tends to compact the soil, which can slow the movement of moisture and nutrients to the roots, he said.

Others spread the manure in dry form over fields. Either way, the nutrients find their way to the plants.

Some farmers hire the fertilizing for about $60 an acre, Bokelman said. There are at least two custom applicators in the area.

The animal waste is heavily regulated, in an effort to keep contamination out of rivers, streams and underground water sources.

"You soil test and test the manure, so that you apply the correct amount," Bokelman said. "You match the resource to the need."

Bokelman said the use of manure is considered somewhat of a boon to the area.

"We've seen an increase in the number of barns constructed here in the last five years." he said. "You take the government out of the picture and animal agriculture in Washington County is the largest employer."

Barns are going up all over.

"Oh, boy, is it happening," Henry said. "There are hundreds of farmers out there, trying to figure out new, innovative and sustainable ways to stay in business."

Pork processing plants

What's driving the growth in Washington County, and an area along U.S. Highway 36 from Norton County across northeast Kansas, is proximity to pork processing plants -- Triumph in St. Joseph, Mo., and Farmland Foods, in Crete, Neb.

There is also little competition in the area from ethanol plants, which are big users of corn and other grains.

The pigs usually are born in Oklahoma, Missouri and western Kansas. After they're weaned at 15 pounds, they are trucked to finishing barns closer to slaughter.

It's cheaper to haul pigs longer distances while they're lighter. Once they're at finish weight, 275 pounds, the haul to Crete or St. Joseph from Washington is shorter.

"I can get 680 baby pigs on a semi and move them to where they're going to grow up. It's going to take five semis to get those finished pigs to market," Henry said.

The availability of grain and manure, and the short distance from a processing plant, make it work in this area, he said.

Loaning money for barns

Farm Credit has loaned money to a number of farmers to build barns.

"They've been good investments, especially for young people," Bokelman said. "I farm myself, close to a dairy, and I take all the manure they'll give me. There's no comparison to what it will produce."

The 50-by-200-foot barns require a $500,000 investment, and there is equipment to buy, such as agitators to churn the manure into a movable liquid, miles of hose and reels, pumps and engines.

While the barns are paid off over 15 years, there is a decent income to be had, Bokelman said. "Then it can be a substantial income."

Henry said that as farmers work "to feed a hungry world," more manure will be available.

More than just animals

And it's not just from animals. About 1,100 dry tons of "bio-solids" from the Salina wastewater treatment plant yearly are used by a Saline County farmer to raise crops, said Martha Tasker, director of utilities.

Preparing the material is an extensive and lengthy process to meet all federal EPA guidelines, she said, "to ensure there is no health risk."

Many municipal sewage plants, but not all, put their waste to beneficial use, Tasker said.

"The long term of this is looking really valuable," Henry said.

While it's not exactly appetizing to think about, human and animal waste are part of a grand circle in food production.

"We all poop. Let's get real folks," Henry said. "It goes in the mouth and when it comes out the other end, that's not the end."

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.

Join the Discussion:

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ncfarmer says....
good to know that the author continues to educate us on the pig prices currently, hog contractors are currently cutting contracts by 60% making mr banker concerned for his job. mr farmer is now paying 60,000 dollars in intrest alone while feeding out 1 pig per barn on a 500,000 dollar loan. animal manure will increase yields naturally, but in these cases the swine farmers and dairies are begging to get ride of the manure to keep in compliance with KDHE
11/1/2009

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Grant Goldsmith, Salina says....
Thanks for educating me on this topic. Good to know that smart people are thinking about recycling and the environment.
4/19/2009

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