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Positive Aspects of Manure
April 16, 2001
A number of interesting things about horse manure are positive and "make it nearly the ideal manure" (Carol Galloway, National Agriculture Compliance Assistance Center (pers. comm. 2000).
The USEPA defines manure as the combination of feces and urine.
Manure is an excellent fertilizer because it contains at least low concentrations of every element necessary for plant growth. The most important macronutrients in manure are N, P, and K, all of which come from urine and feces. USEPA. Dev. Doc. for the Proposed Revs. to the NPDES Reg. and ELGs for CAFOs. EPA-821-R-01-003. Pg. 8-144.
Horse manure is best handled as a solid http://www.epa.gov/ostwater/guide/feedlots/execsumm.pdf .
It is dry with a high C:N ratio. It composts well alone or as an amendment for wet cattle manure. It has low odor potential, and decomposes rapidly, especially if bedding is straw. It is often available at little or no cost from local stables, racetracks, etc. "It is an excellent composting material" (Ohio State and NRAES 54).
Manure in general is underutilized as a nutrient source. Manure can build soil organic reserves, resulting in improved water-holding capacity, increased water infiltration rates and improved structural stability. Manure can decrease the energy needed for tillage, reduce impedance to seedling emergence and root penetration, stimulate growth of beneficial soil microbial populations and increase beneficial mesofauna such as earthworms. www.nps.ars.usda.gov/ Appendix F to CNMP www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/PROGRAMS/ahcwpd/ahCNMP.html Pg. 6
Land application of manure is the most common, and usually most desirable method of utilizing manure because of the value of the nutrients and organic matter. Pg 8 Unified National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations 3-9-99. www.epa.gov/owm/finafost.htm
About one-fifth of the nutrients that a horse eats are passed out in the manure and urine. If the manure is properly handled, about half of those excreted nutrients can be utilized by pasture or crop plants in one growing season with the balance being used in subsequent years. Horse manure is considered on of the most valuable of farm manures, being quite high in nitrogen and "hot" or capable of fermentation. A ton of horse manure will supply the equivalent of a one hundred pound sack of 14-5-11 fertilizer as well as providing valuable organic matter and trace elements. www.horsekeeping.com/horse_management/manure_management.htm
Manure Management by Cherry Hill
Horse manure is an excellent fertilizer. One 455kg=1000 lb horse in one year produces 45kg (100lb)N; 8kg (17lb)P; 28kg (62lb)K. Moreover, the organic matter in the manure with its vast array of positive organisms adds biologic activity to soil. Manure can improve the physical structure of the soil, improve aeration, permeability, increase water-holding capacity, provide pH buffering, and reduce salt levels. www.agf.gov.bc.ca/resmgmt/fppa/pubs/environ/horse Environmental Guidelines for Horse Owners Ch. 8. Manure Management
www.cfe.cornell.edu/compost/calc/simultaneous.html for manure testing
Ideal C:N ratio for composting 30:1 Horse manure with urine is 19:1
Ideal compost moisture content 50-60% Horse manure is excreted between 50-80%
Ideal compost pH is between 6.5-8.5 Horse is 7.2
Throw in a little grass or straw with aeration and you have instant composting.
Dr. Tom Halback Univ Minn Waste Management Specialist www.thehorse.com/1097/manure_manangement1097
Horse manure is prized by home gardeners and commercial nurseries because it is less dense than other types of animal manure. It can be argued that the use of horse manure for fertilizer on fields and croplands has the potential of generating less pollution than the use of chemical fertilizers, and promotes a sustainable agriculture. Nancy Deuel. "Land Use and zoning issues affecting the horse industry". Jour. Eq. Vet Sci 1989 9(1)51-55.
Justification for the 2 horse per acre rule in most regulation comes from this concept: An 8 ton/hectare (3.6ton/ac) grass crop (pasture) requires approx 190 kg/he (170 lb/ac of N. This translates into the annual waste production from 5 horses per hectare (or 2.1 horses per acre).
Pg 7: spreading www.agf.gov.bc.ca/resmgmt/fppa/pubs/environ/horse/horse08
Horses are not ruminant animals (no multiple stomachs and cud chewing). The primary source of methane release in livestock production is ruminant animals. AARS Air Quality National Program http://www.ups.aars.usda.gov/ Cited in Appendix F to CNMP Final Guidance document 2001 www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/PROGRAMS/ahcwpd/ahCNMP.html.