Let’s talk numbers on manure

To the editor:
On social media and at the recent public meeting on confinement livestock, the idea was brought forth that Jay County’s livestock farmers are dumping manure in vast quantities on our farm ground.
Let’s look at the numbers and see what they show.
A typical 3-ton application of poultry manure would cost a farmer a minimum of $75 per acre. What is he getting for this? Eighty-two pounds of available nitrogen, 71 pounds of phosphate, and 40 pounds of potash. A typical corn crop of 150 bushels per acre removes 135 pounds of nitrogen, 57 pounds of phosphate, and 41 pounds of potassium on an annual basis.
Do the math. The farmer will still need to add nitrogen to get to the desired level. This is assuming he only wants 150 bushels. (This year’s average will be close to 180 bushels per acre.) It also assumes that all of the nutrients are 100 percent available, which is not true.
Let’s just see what three tons of manure would look when spread onto a field.
Get out your tape measure and measure off a one-foot square on your table top. Now get one half cup of dry cat food and spread it over the square foot that you have measured off. This is the equivalent of three tons per acre.
Now what did you apply along with the above nutrients? Approximately 600 pounds of water, 800 pounds of organic matter, 400 pounds of calcium, and seven to 10 pounds of minor nutrients.
Aha. That magic word: Organic matter. Just what is it?
Organic matter is the equivalent of grass clippings or compost that we all add back to our gardens to improve the soil. Hardly something we would consider toxic.
What does a typical application of 5,000 gallons per acre of hog manure provide? It provides 180 pounds of nitrogen, 460 pounds of phosphate, and 250 pounds of potash.
Sounds like a lot, until you consider the fact that due to its make-up only 80 percent of the nitrogen, 50 percent of the phosphate, and 60 percent of the potash is available.
Well, get out your square foot measure again. Take a 16-ounce bottle of pop (really 13.77 ounces) and pour it on this area. This is the equivalent of 5,000 gallons per acre. It amounts to two-tenths of an inch of rain. Now what did you apply along with the above nutrients? Approximately 500 pounds of organic matter, 600 pounds of water, and 10 pounds of minor nutrients.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s latest statistics show Jay County has 156,000 acres of cropland, and based on the animal units in Jay County we are producing enough manure to cover only 19.7 percent of the acreage.
One last number to consider. The two largest poultry farms in the county, which produce 63 percent of the total layer manure, sell 95 percent of all their manure to farmers outside of the county, mostly back into counties in Ohio.
One just needs to ask why? Economics, my friends, is the answer. Money talks.
Now, you look at the numbers and make your own decision.
For me, three tons per acre and 5,000 gallons per acre is just keeping up with what I am removing from my crops on an annual basis.
It hardly seems to be “dumping” or excessive.
Rick Dues
Rural Portland