Manure Archives | Manitoba Co-operator

There’s a world of difference between liquid and solid manure and how both provide nutrients to crops.

Manure: The gift that keeps on giving

Not all manure is created equally when it comes to field applications

By Angela Lovell January 29, 2020

How long can manure provide value to farmers’ fields after application? The short answer is that it depends on what you mean by ‘manure,’ and how and when you’re applying it, according to a 10-year study from the University of Manitoba’s National Centre for Livestock & Environment (NCLE). NCLE has been evaluating the short- and

Dairy cattle, Livestock

Quebec ag co-op to power up on dairy cattle manure

By GFM Network News, Gfm Staff December 16, 2019

About a dozen Quebec dairy farms will be getting their collective manure together next year for the province’s first-ever ag co-operative devoted to renewable natural gas. Coop Agri-Energie Warwick, launched Monday, plans to start construction this spring on a $12 million biomethanization plant which will take in slurry and manure from dairy cattle mixed with

Crops, News

Manitoba farmers need manure spreading flexibility this fall

The Manitoba government’s deadline is almost here,  but wet weather has kept applicators out of the field

By Allan Dawson November 7, 2019

The manure could soon hit the proverbial fan. The Nov. 10 deadline for applying manure to Manitoba fields, as well as fertilizer, is just a few days away. As of last week many livestock farmers hadn’t emptied their hog manure lagoons or cattle pens because wet weather prevented some fields from being harvested, while many

Crops, News

How effective is spring manure application?

By Allan Dawson November 7, 2019

In some ways spring is the best time to apply manure, but in other ways it’s not. Crops get the best use of nutrients when applied in the spring, but with seeding being a priority there’s often not a lot of time, says Petra Loro, Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development’s livestock environment specialist. But if

PED is a potentially devastating disease and can cause 80 to 100 per cent of piglet losses.

Hogs, Local news, News

Precautions urged as PED outbreak enters fall manure-spreading season

Producers are getting ready to begin fall spreading, but some manure lagoons will need extra precautions as the province’s PED numbers climb

By Alexis Stockford September 27, 2019

Manitoba’s latest battle with PED has put a new focus on biosecurity as fall manure spreading gets underway. The province suffered another spate of PED confirmations this month. The Chief Veterinary Office (CVO) had confirmed 78 cases as of Sept. 20, with the last confirmed Sept. 13. Eight of those cases have been added since

A map shows the distribution of manure-rich cultivated areas. The green spots demonstrate the areas with the most potential for phosphorus recycling.

Did you know?, News

Manure map raises recycling hopes

A study shows potential for farmers to reclaim phosphorus fertilizer

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff May 14, 2019

A New Jersey university is mapping the world’s manure in an effort to jump-start a movement to recycle phosphorus. In the April 2019 issue of Earth’s Future, a research team from Stevens Institute of Technology mapped the journey of phosphorus from soil to crops, to livestock and humans, and eventually into sewers and landfills. This

Desmond Essien speaking at the New and Emerging Research session on December 12 at the Prairie Livestock Expo in Winnipeg.

Hogs, Livestock

Biofilters a natural way to control hog barn odour

Odour mitigation is an important question for the future of Manitoba’s growing hog industry

By Don Norman January 15, 2019

A new research project at the University of Manitoba is taking aim at hog manure odours the natural way. PhD student Desmond Essien is investigating the potential of using biofilters as an odour mitigation technology for use in swine barns in Manitoba. Essien spoke about his research at the New and Emerging Research sessions at

Livestock, Weather

Florence shuts down U.S. slaughterhouses

By GFM Network News, Lisa Baertlein, Tom Polansek September 18, 2018

Chicago/Los Angeles | Reuters — U.S. food companies kept slaughter plants shut on Monday in southeastern states swamped by Hurricane Florence as flash floods collapsed the walls of at least two hog manure pits, made roads undriveable and delayed rail shipments. Catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Florence, which has dumped up to 36 inches of rain

Manitoba’s organic growers got a close look at composting windrows at Boundy Farms near Boissevain July 21 during an Organic Producers Association of Manitoba field tour.

Local news, News

Breaking down the basics of organic compost in windrows

Organic producers got some expert advice on composting during a July 21 field tour near Boissevain

By Alexis Stockford August 13, 2018

Organic farmers may want to refine that manure before spreading it. Dale Overton, CEO of Overton Environmental Enterprises, urges organic farmers to add a composting step to their fertility programs, something he says will provide better long-term organic matter gain, fight off weeds and save money on fertilizer. Overton’s arguments echo advice from provincial Agriculture

A research project in China has confirmed adding enzymes to the pig genomes allows them to digest nitrogen and phosphorus much more efficiently.

Did you know?, Hogs

Just passing through

Pigs that better digest their nutrients could reduce  pork industry’s carbon footprint

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff June 4, 2018

Pigs will eat what’s put in front of them — but digesting it is another question. In particular, according to one research scientist from the South China Agricultural University, nitrogen and phosphorus can pass through the pig undigested, causing downstream environmental challenges. Lead author of the study Xianwei Zhang, published recently in the online journal

U.S. grains: South American supply issues wane

U.S. livestock: Live cattle climb ahead of USDA report

Feed weekly outlook: Offshore demand still lifting Prairie barley

GFM Network News