Temporary Field Storage Of Solid Manure or Prescribed Materials

Agdex#:	743/538
Publication Date:	01/05
Order#:	05-009
Last Reviewed:	01/05
History:	Replaces OMAFRA Factsheet Temporary Field Storage of Solid Manure or Prescribed Materials, Order No. 03-105
Written by:	Hugh W. Fraser, Engineer/OMAFRA

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Know Ontario's NMA and Other Legislation
3. What is Defined as Solid?
4. Determining the Maximum Days of Temporary Storage at One Location

Introduction

Ontario Regulation 267/03 ("Regulation") made under the Nutrient Management Act, 2002 (NMA) contains many provisions that apply to those farms required to have a nutrient management strategy or plan. Currently, "new", "expanding large" and "existing large" livestock operations are phased in, or will shortly be phased in, by the requirement to have these documents. These operations are now required, with some exceptions, to be able to store their manure for 240 days. For solid manure, this can be achieved by adding the days of all storage available, including:

• permanent storage (e.g. 3-walled concrete storage)
• in-barn storage (e.g. manure pack under animals)
• using a broker to periodically remove manure, and
• temporary field storage (Figure 1).

So, a chicken broiler farmer would meet 240 days if he:

• builds a permanent storage to hold 180 days of solid manure production from the barn and
• stores at least 60 more days of manure production in a proper temporary field storage, prior to land application.

Temporary field storage creates flexibility for farmers, but must be done properly to reduce the potential for surface or groundwater contamination.

Figure 1. Temporary field storage of manure in a vineyard.

Know Ontario's NMA and Other Legislation

The provincial Nutrient Management Act, 2002 and Regulation regulates the storage, handling and application of nutrients that could be applied to agricultural cropland. The objective is to protect Ontario's surface and groundwater resources. Part VIII, s. 82-86 of the Regulation outlines the standards for Temporary Field Nutrient Storage Sites.

What is Defined as Solid?

Solid, in relation to prescribed materials or nutrients, is;

'…having a dry matter content of 18 per cent, or more, or a slump of 150 mm, or less, using the (slump test) set out in Schedule 5 to Regulation 347 made under the Environmental Protection Act…'

To most farmers, 'solid prescribed materials' means 'solid manure' containing bedding such as straw, peat moss, shavings, sawdust or other materials, allowing it to stack and handle with loaders.

There are 3 ranges of dry matter content of solid prescribed materials dealt with in the requirements for temporary storage in the Regulation. Table 1 gives examples of these ranges.

Table 1. Ranges of Dry Matter Defined in Regulation

Greater than 50% dry matter

• All poultry on litter, such as broilers, broiler breeders, layer pullets, turkeys
• Dehydrated greenhouse vines

Greater than 30%, but less than 50% dry matter

• Beef cows and calves on bedding
• Goats, sheep, rabbits on bedding
• Horses¹ on bedding
• Cured compost

18 to 30% dry matter

• Laying hens in cages; belts or deep pack
• Dairy operations on bedding
• Beef feeders on bedding
• Spent mushroom substrate
• Beef feeders¹ on deep-bedded pack
• Dairy operations¹ on deep-bedded pack
• Hog operations¹ on deep-bedded pack
• Mushroom stumps²
• Asparagus butts²
• Culled potted plants²

¹Adding bedding to manure increases dry matter, so this manure could realistically move to a drier category.

²Agricultural-source materials less than 18% dry matter, but which pass the 'slump test' should be considered in this range for the purpose of the Regulation

1. The minimum depth of unconsolidated soil¹ to bedrock under the site and within 3 m of the side of the site, must be 0.3 m.
   
   Rationale: This minimizes the potential for runoff to reach bedrock under, or near, a temporary storage site)
   
   
2. The minimum depth of soil above the water table², under the site and within 3 m of the side of the site, must be 0.9 m.
   
   Rationale: This minimizes potential for runoff to reach the water table under, or near, a temporary storage site
   
   
3. Nutrients must not be stored on soils that have rapid infiltration rates, namely Hydrologic Soil Group 'AA'.
   
   Rationale: "Hydrologic soil group AA" means a soil with rapid infiltration rates, namely hydrologic soil group A, as defined by the Drainage Guide for Ontario, located on soils that have a depth of less than 0.9 m to bedrock. There are very few locations in Ontario with these conditions, but if you suspect your farm is situated on one of them, use a metal rod to probe down at least 1 m to check for possible shallow bedrock.
   
   
4. The storage site must not be located in an area that, according to the flood plain mapping provided by the municipality or conservation authority, is subject to flooding more than once every 100 years.
   
   Rationale: Storage sites with the potential for flooding are inappropriate. Ask the conservation authority if they have records indicating that the proposed temporary storage is in a 1 in 100 year flood plain.
   
   
5. The site must not have a slope greater than 3%.
   
   Rationale: 3% is a vertical drop of 3 m every 100 m distance. Runoff moves quickly on relatively steep slopes
   
   
6. There must be a flow path that is at least 50 m to the nearest surface water or tile inlet, and located at least 0.3 m above bedrock.
   
   Rationale: Flow path is defined in the Regulation as 'a surface channel or depression that conducts liquids away from the area'.
   
   

7. Do not locate the site within:

   • 45 m of a drilled well that has a depth of at least 6 m and a watertight casing to a depth of at least 6 m below ground level
   • 90 m of any other well, other than a municipal well
   • 100 m of a municipal well
   • 125 m of a single residence, or within 250 m of a residential area, if the area is used for storing manure, or other prescribed materials (but, not de-watered municipal sewage biosolids)
   • 200 m of a single residence, or within 450 m of a residential area, if the area is used for storing de-watered municipal sewage biosolids
     
     
   Rationale: Setbacks help minimize risks to drinking water, and are greater than those required for permanent storages since there is more risk of runoff.
   

1. A farmer who receives and stores nutrients on site cannot receive and store more nutrients than is expected to be used for crop production on that farm unit in that operating year.
   
   Rationale: Storage piles should be size-appropriate for the field; a temporary pile is truly temporary when it is used on the field where it is placed.
   
   
2. Non-agricultural source materials stored in the site must be used on the farm unit and cannot be transferred to another farm unit.
   
   Rationale: Again, use them on the field where they are placed.
   
   
3. If more than one type of nutrient is stored on site, the nutrients must be managed in accordance with the most restrictive requirements applicable to any of the nutrients stored in the site.
   
   Rationale: See example 5 to follow.
   
   
4. If the site is located in an area that is tile-drained, there must be a contingency plan in place to deal with any contaminated liquid that might get into the tiles.
   
   Rationale: Farmers must be prepared to deal with runoff getting into tile drains. Proving there are, or aren't tiles under or near a temporary storage can be difficult. Some ideas include: checking aerial photos of the field; looking for nearby tile outlets; observing the first spots to drain in spring; or asking previous owners and local drainage contractors. Probing at least 1 m deep in more obvious locations for tiles with a metal rod can help assist you, but is difficult over large areas.
   
   
5. Nutrients must not be stored on site for longer than the maximum time allowed for each nutrient.
   
   Rationale: If you have more than one temporary field storage on the farm in different locations, each one might have a different allowable maximum time at that site based on the scoring system for that site.
   
   
6. The site may be used again the following year if a minimum of 75% vegetative cover is re-established on the site following the removal of nutrients from the surface after the site ceases to be in use each year.
   
   Rationale: To be used consecutively for temporary field storage, the area must be able to grow vegetation again. This can be difficult when the same site is used annually.
   
   

7. The operator shall provide a sketch of the site showing setback distances, as described earlier, and maintain records for all temporary field storage sites, which include the dates the site was:

   • established, then removed
   • displaced, mixed or inverted, if applicable.

   
   Rationale: The more information in the sketch, and the more details on management, the better.
   

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Determining the Maximum Days of Temporary Storage at One Location

If nutrients are stored in a temporary field storage site for longer than 24 hours, then the Regulation standards apply. Allowable days of temporary storage are based on 10 site characteristics and best management practices. Farmers are 'rewarded with days of temporary field storage' for methods protecting surface and ground water.

Table 5 in this Factsheet lists the 10 site characteristics and best management practices, how each is used to cumulatively determine the maximum allowable time of field storage at each site, and the rationale. Storage period is linked to relative environmental risk to surface and groundwater.

The total number of days is cumulative, but cannot exceed 300 days. This applies for solid manure, other agricultural source materials, and non-agricultural source materials. The one exception to this is a maximum of 10 days for dewatered municipal sewage biosolids

If dewatered municipal sewage biosolids were stored in the same temporary field storage site as manure, the maximum days of storage would still be only 10 days.

Even though rules on temporary field storage only apply to farmers required to prepare a Nutrient Management Strategy (NMS) or Nutrient Management Plan (NMP), it is hoped farmers who do not yet have to prepare a NMS or NMP will still adhere to the concepts of the site-scoring system. This will help ensure temporary field storage of solid manure and other prescribed materials do not contribute unnecessarily to surface or groundwater contamination.

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Table 5. Temporary Field Storage of Solid Manure or Prescribed Materials Site-Scoring System

Item 1. % Dry Matter

Management Techniques and Field Conditions for Materials Stored in a Temporary Field Nutrient Storage Site	Days	Your Farm
Nutrients stored in the site have a dry matter content of 50%, or more	+60
30% or more, but less than 50%	+30
18%, or more, but less than 30% (includes horticultural culled materials)	+0

Rationale: The higher the dry matter of manure, the more rainfall it can soak up. Poultry farmers, with manure > 50% dry matter, know this when they remove piles and see that rainfall only penetrates up to 125 mm under the surface, as in the picture shown. Wetter manure sheds rainfall off the sides, or lets it soak through and into the soil. Keeping the pile as 'flat' as possible on top helps force the rainfall to soak in and prevent runoff.

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Item 2. % N and % P Added Together

Management Techniques and Field Conditions for Materials Stored in a Temporary Field Nutrient Storage Site	Days	Your Farm
The % of total nitrogen combined with the % of total phosphorus, both on a wet basis, is: less than 0.8%	+60
at least 0.8%, but less than 1.6%	+30
1.6%, or more	+0

Rationale: The lower these two nutrients are in manure when placed, the lower the environmental risk if there is runoff. There is a broad range of nutrient contents in solid manure, related to species and diet. The table opposite lists average nutrient contents by dry matter range in the NMAN database for many animals. Your manure might vary depending on bedding.

Manure	18-30% DM	30-50% DM	> 50% DM
Poultry	2.0%	2.8%	4.4%
Swine	1.4%	1.3%	NA
Beef	0.8%	1.3%	NA
Sheep	0.9%	1.0%	1.6%
Cattle	0.8%	0.9%	NA

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Item 3: Drainage Tile and Bedrock Location

Management Techniques and Field Conditions for Materials Stored in a Temporary Field Nutrient Storage Site	Days	Your Farm
There are no field drainage tiles at any depth of the soil surface and no bedrock within 0.9 m of the soil surface, located: Under the site Within 3 m of the perimeter of the site, or Within the first 50 m of the flow path to surface water	+0
There are field drainage tiles at any depth of the soil surface or bedrock within 0.9 m of the soil surface, located: Under the site Within 3 m of the perimeter of the site, or within the first 50 m of the flow path to surface water	-60

Rationale: If runoff from the pile sides, or leachate through the middle of the temporary field storage does occur, there is less environmental risk if the contaminated water has no conduit for travel to surface or ground water. Conduits can be provided by tile, or bedrock under, near, or in the first part of the flow path away from the pile. Most Ontario farms are tiled, and many have bedrock near the surface. It is natural to assume this is a good place to store manure, since it is a dry place for machinery. However, the Regulation encourages farmers to avoid these locations by 'taking away' days of storage, on sites with these conditions.

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Item 4: Soil Type Under the Site

Management Techniques and Field Conditions for Materials Stored in a Temporary Field Nutrient Storage Site	Days	Your Farm
The site is situated on soil included in the following hydrologic soil groups as defined by OMAFRA Publication 29, Drainage Guide for Ontario: B,C or D	+30
A	+0

Rationale: The heavier the soil under a temporary field storage, the less opportunity there is for leachate to percolate down to the groundwater. Clay soils are denser and better at preventing downward percolation than lighter, coarser soils one might find in a peach orchard such as the one in this picture.

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Item 5: Perimeter of the Site

Management Techniques and Field Conditions for Materials Stored in a Temporary Field Nutrient Storage Site	Days	Your Farm
The outer edge of the site (of all piles), at the ground surface, has a perimeter of Less than 100 m	+30
100 m, or more	+0

Rationale: Piles that have a more square and compact footprint, will soak up more rainfall than piles of equivalent volume but more long and strung out, since they have less total side perimeter for runoff. The table opposite shows the perimeter of three piles, all storing 100 tonnes of solid chicken broiler manure, stored 1.2 m deep (4 ft) when dumped from a truck; with one long, two medium, or three short rows of piles.

Pile Type (all connected together)	L x W (m)	Per. (m)
1 long row	84 x 4.25	175
2 medium length rows	43 x 8.5	102
3 short length rows	29 x 12.8	84

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Item 6: Covers and Tarps

Management Techniques and Field Conditions for Materials Stored in a Temporary Field Nutrient Storage Site	Days	Your Farm
The site is covered with a rain-shedding tarp that: has been anchored against wind removal has been placed on site the same day on which the first materials were placed, and remains in place for entire storage period	+120
Site not covered with rain-shedding tarp	+0

Rationale: Tarps prevent contaminated runoff since rainfall does not touch the manure. However, tarps are unpopular because they are inconvenient and difficult to anchor against wind removal. Breathable tarps, such as the (partial) one shown here in a compost turning system, are recommended (also see Examples 6 and 8).

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Item 7: Distance to Surface Water

Management Techniques and Field Conditions for Materials Stored in a Temporary Field Nutrient Storage Site	Days	Your Farm
The site has a flow path to the nearest surface water or water inlet for field tile drainage of: 150 m, or more	+30
At least 50 m, but less than 150 m	+0

Rationale: If runoff does occur, there is less environmental risk if the runoff has to travel a long distance to surface water or to a water inlet for field tile drains. Surface water is defined in the Regulation. Water inlets for field tile drains, such as water and sediment control basins that collect and drain floodwaters (see photo) are not surface water under the Regulation, but temporary field storages still should not be near them.

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Item 8: Location of Site

Management Techniques and Field Conditions for Materials Stored in a Temporary Field Nutrient Storage Site	Days	Your Farm
The site is situated on the same location, or within 125 m of the same location Not more often than once every 3 years	+60
More often than once every 3 years	+0

Rationale: When temporary field storage is in the same location year after year, this is considered permanent storage. This causes a buildup of soil nutrients, and can render the site uncroppable. Piles should be size-appropriate to fields, and moved where needed for the crops. Piles on the ground behind the barn, as shown here, are not temporary field storages.

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Item 9: Materials Removed from Site

Management Techniques and Field Conditions for Materials Stored in a Temporary Field Nutrient Storage Site	Days	Your Farm
The site is not situated on the same location, or within 125 m of the same location, more often than once every 3 years, and the materials stored are removed from the site and applied to land during the period between August 15 and October 15 in any year.	+60
The situation described above does not apply to the site	+0

Rationale: Many farmers want to spread manure during the drier and later time of summer and early fall, such as after wheat is harvested (see photo). During this time, there is usually more evaporation of moisture than is being replaced by rainfall, so there is reduced risk of runoff. The Regulation provides an incentive for temporary field storage manure that will be spread during this drier season, as long as it is also being located on different sites yearly, as in a crop rotation.

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Item 10: Turning of stored Materials

Management Techniques and Field Conditions for Materials Stored in a Temporary Field Nutrient Storage Site	Days	Your Farm
The pile of materials stored on site: has dry matter between 25 and 60%, and has C:N ratio between 20:1 and 40:1, and is turned so that every piece of material in pile is displaced from its former position and mixed or inverted once weekly for the first 3 weeks, and once monthly after that	+120
The site described above does not apply	+0

Rationale: An increasing number of farmers compost their solid manure for use on their cropland, such as shown here. Long windrows of manure with a lot of straw or wood shavings in them are placed in the field, then turned often to mix them and introduce oxygen. This improves the compost process, but also dries the piles and breaks up surface crusting, allowing the piles to act as sponges for most rainfall that lands.

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Total Score = Add the totals in the column for 'Your Farm' = Maximum allowable consecutive days of temporary field storage at this location

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Example 1

A temporary field storage for horse manure to be spread on a corn field has these 10 characteristics:

#	Characteristics	Example 1	Days
1	% dry matter	38%	+30
2	% N added to %P	0.75%	+60
3	Tiles/bedrock under/nearby	none	+0
4	Soil type	clay (D)	+30
5	Perimeter of pile	60 m	+30
6	Cover	none	+0
7	Distance to surface water	200 m	+30
8	Location of site	every year	+0
9	Removal date	May	+0
10	Turning of pile	not turned	+0
Total maximum days allowed at this site			+180

So, the maximum time horse manure can remain at this site is 180 days. One simple way to increase this is to locate this temporary storage on a site not used for temporary field storage in the last 2 years.

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Example 2

A temporary field storage for chicken broiler manure in a vineyard has these characteristics:

#	Characteristics	Example 2	Days
1	% dry matter	62%	+60
2	% N added to %P	3.4%	+0
3	Tiles/bedrock under/nearby	tile present	-60
4	Soil type	clay (D)	+30
5	Perimeter of pile	50 m	+30
6	Cover	None	+0
7	Distance to surface water	300 m	+30
8	Location of site	every year	+0
9	Removal date	June	+0
10	Turning of pile	not turned	+0
Total maximum days allowed at this site			+90

So, the maximum time chicken manure can remain at this site is 90 days. Two ways to increase this would be to locate this temporary storage on a site not used for temporary field storage in the last 2 years, and one without tiles under it.

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Example 3

A temporary field storage, for beef manure to be spread on a corn field has these characteristics:

#	Characteristics	Example 3	Days
1	% dry matter	32%	+30
2	% N added to %P	1.2%	+30
3	Tiles/bedrock under/nearby	None	+0
4	Soil type	clay (D)	+30
5	Perimeter of pile	150 m	+0
6	Cover	None	+0
7	Distance to surface water	500 m	+30
8	Location of site	once/3 years	+60
9	Removal date	September	+60
10	Turning of pile	not turned	+0
Total maximum days allowed at this site			+240

So, the maximum time beef manure can remain at this site in temporary field storage is 240 days.

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Example 4

Mushrooms grow on a special organic mixture. After harvest the mushroom substrate can be spread on fields just like manure. A temporary field storage for spent mushroom substrate has these characteristics:

#	Characteristics	Example 4	Days
1	% dry matter	25%	+0
2	% N added to %P	0.75%	+60
3	Tiles/bedrock under/nearby	tile present	-60
4	Soil type	sand (A)	+0
5	Perimeter of pile	50 m	+30
6	Cover	none	+0
7	Distance to surface water	75 m	+0
8	Location of site	every year	+0
9	Removal date	September	+01
10	Turning of pile	not turned	+0
Total maximum days allowed at this site			+30

¹Note that even though the pile will be spread in September, the site does not score an additional 60 days because it does not meet the additional condition of 'not situated on the same location more often than once every 3 years'.

To increase storage time find a site without tiles, move it further from surface water, move to different locations every year in a crop rotation and continue to spread in September.

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Example 5

A temporary field storage of manure is turned frequently and composted in windrows.

#	Characteristics	Example 5	Days
1	% dry matter (use most restrictive one)	25% swine 40% cattle	+0
2	% N added to %P (use most restrictive one)	1.4% swine 1.2% cattle	+301
3	Tiles/bedrock under/nearby	Tile present	-60
4	Soil type	Loam (B)	+30
5	Perimeter of pile	300 m	+0
6	Cover	None	+0
7	Distance to surface water	500 m	+30
8	Location of site	Once/5 years	+60
9	Removal date	May	+0
10	Turning of pile	C:N is 30:1	+1202
Total maximum days allowed at this site			+210

¹The most restrictive manure type must be considered when determining the score for the % Dry Matter and the % N added to % P, regardless of the relative volume of each.

²The C:N ratio of the mixture is at the time of placement, as the C:N ratio will decrease over time as composting proceeds.

To increase storage time above 210 days find a location without tiles under it. This would increase storage time to 270 days, which for most windrow composting systems is sufficient time to allow proper composting and curing before field application.

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Example 6

After cleaning the manure out of a broiler-breeder pullet barn, a breathable rain-shedding tarp (shown here cut open, revealing dry manure underneath) is applied immediately. The resulting temporary field storage has the following characteristics:

#	Characteristics	Example 6	Days
1	% dry matter	40%	+30
2	% N added to %P	3.0%	+0
3	Tiles/bedrock under/nearby	none	+0
4	Soil type	clay (B)	+30
5	Perimeter of pile	75 m	+30
6	Cover	yes	+120
7	Distance to surface water	250 m	+30
8	Location of site	once/5 yrs	+60
9	Removal date	September	+60
10	Turning of pile	not turned	+0
Total days			+3601
But…total maximum days allowed at this site			+300

¹The maximum allowable days in one location is 300 days.

For all-in/all-out operations such as broiler-breeder pullets, it is easier to use a cover because once it is anchored in place, it need not be removed until the manure is spread on the fields. This is difficult when manure is added more frequently.

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Example 7

A temporary field storage of culled cut flowers from a greenhouse has these characteristics:

#	Characteristics	Example 7	Days
1	% dry matter1	15%	+0
2	% N added to %P	0.7%	+60
3	Tiles/bedrock under/nearby	none	+0
4	Soil type	clay (B)	+30
5	Perimeter of pile	30 m	+30
6	Cover	none	+0
7	Distance to surface water	500 m	+30
8	Location of site	once/3 years	+60
9	Removal date	May	+0
10	Turning of pile	not turned	+0
Total maximum days allowed at this site			+210

¹These culled cut flowers are less than 18% dry matter, but would pass a 'slump' test, so should be considered in the lowest dry matter range of 18-30% for purposes of scoring the temporary storage site.

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Example 8

A temporary field storage of beef manure, composted in windrows,with a rain-shedding tarp that can be lifted and replaced during pile turning, has the following characteristics.

#	Characteristics	Example 8	Days
1	% dry matter	40%	+30
2	% N added to %P	1.3%	+30
3	Tiles/bedrock under/nearby	tile present	-60
4	Soil type	sand (A)	+0
5	Perimeter of pile	250 m	+0
6	Cover	yes	+120
7	Distance to surface water	75 m	+0
8	Location of site	once/2 years	+0
9	Removal date	May	+0
10	Turning of pile	C:N is 30:1	+120
Total maximum days allowed on this site			+240

So, even though this temporary field storage site is located on a light soil with tiles under it, the cover and turning of the pile help minimize the risk of contaminated runoff. However, it is still recommended that sites should still avoid tiled areas if possible.