Temporary Storage of Solid Manure on Your Farm

Are you a horticultural producer or cash cropper, looking for guidelines on how to safely store solid manure, temporarily on your farm? The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has recently released a new factsheet on this issue called Temporary Field Storage of Solid Manure or Prescribed Materials (Order number 05-009, Agdex 743/538).

The use of manure can have many benefits on your farm. Over time, tillage and erosion can result in the loss of organic matter from soil. Manure, particularly solid manure with bedding, can replace some lost organic matter and increase soil structure, porosity, and water holding ability. Manure is also a good source of nutrients for crops; both nitrogen and phosphorus are available in the first year but are also present, tied up in organic matter, for release in the second and third years.

Using manure on your farm does not come without its challenges. Nitrogen in manure is present in both ammonium and organic forms. Ammonium nitrogen in liquid run off can be harmful to fish in nearby streams. Ammonium is eventually converted to nitrate by bacteria and may be available for loss due to leaching. The ability to temporarily store solid manure on your farm, creates great flexibility, but must be done properly to reduce the potential for surface or groundwater contamination.

The new factsheet outlines 10 individual management factors that will help you make good choices for when, where and how long you should store solid manure in a temporary pile on your farm. The longer you want to store a temporary pile on your farm the more positive management factors you should take into account.

Be careful when choosing which type of manure you take on your farm.

The most desirable type is higher in dry matter of the manure. It can soak up more rainfall resulting in less potential run-off and more days of storage. Manures that are properly composted have lower nutrient contents, friendlier microbes and as such pose less environmental risk and can be stored longer.

Select the site for your pile wisely.

Manure piles placed more than a 150 meter flow path away from field drainage lines and surface water sources will reduce potential environmental impact. Piles that are located on heavy textured soils are less likely to impact groundwater. Temporary piles should not be located on the same site more than one year in three.

Manage the look of your pile.

Most of the environmental damage caused by temporary piles is the result of rainfall run-off. Piles that are flat on top have less run-off from the sides. The smaller the perimeter of your pile, at the ground surface, the better. Probably the best environmental management feature for your temporary manure pile is a rain proof cover. All of these management features are described in more detail in the factsheet, with a scoring system to allow you to calculate how long a temporary pile should be stored on your farm.

The factsheet can be obtained from the Ag Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or online.

Related Links

• OMAFRA Factsheet - Temporary field storage of solid manure or prescribed materials, Order No. 05-009