Experts, Advocates, Seasoned Guidance
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Nutrient Management How & Why
What is a Nutrient Unit?
What is Needed for a Plan or Strategy?
Resources
What is needed for a Nutrient Management Plan or a Nutrient Management Strategy?
A lot of information is required to complete a Nutrient Management Plan or Strategy but good farm records should provide most of what is needed. The Nutrient information we need will be in two categories, Nutrients Produced and Nutrients Used.
Nutrients Produced
- Floor plan of existing and proposed livestock barns and manure storage. Most barns are presumed to be full most of the time.
- MSTOR calculation (an OMAF program that determines volume of manure that would be produced).
- Nutrient analysis of manure and documentation to verify effect of feed additives on manure nutrient content. Some default values can be used but they are generally higher than you would like.
- Documentation that adequate hauling equipment is available.
Nutrients Used
- Field maps showing accurate acreage, slopes, distances to neighboring houses, stream locations and buffer strips, tile outlets, tile inlets (catch basins), known wells.
- Soil samples representing 25 acres or less and be not more than 3 years old. The sodium bicarbonate test is required. Grid sampling is not required. Default values can be used but are higher than you would like.
- Planned crop rotations for the next five years.
- Crop yield records. Default yield values are your township crop insurance yields. Proof of yields of more than 120% of that can be used.
- Manure use agreements to spread manure on neighboring land if you don't have enough.
The first steps of Nutrient Planning are collecting information about your operation
Field Details
- Location
- Good farmstead maps or aerial photos
- Cropping Plans
- Sensitive features such as wells and ditches
Soil Sampling
- One composite for every 25 acres
- Composite ha 20 - 25 cores\
Manure Sampling
- Considers differences throughout storage
- Prepare to sample while emptying storage
- Mix/agitate well
- Combine many sub-samples, as storage is emptied in clean container
- Take one sample representing either a section of the storage or a field that received the manure
- Store in a cool place
A spill contingency plan
- Detailing what you would do in the case of a spill
