1-29 IAN Manure Mgmt.

An article came out from the University of Idaho’s school of agriculture and the title was   “MANAGING MANURE PRODUCTION AND NUTRIENT QUALITY”. Here’s what it said: Feeding to optimize manure output and to enhance manure nutrient quality for crop production are not current goals for dairy producers. However, there are feeding strategies available which can be adopted that reduce manure output while maintaining animal performance. Limit feeding programs are promising alternatives in dairy heifer management. Modeling tools are very useful for evaluating diet alternatives and predicting potential impacts on lactating cow performance and manure excretion. Current research suggests that manure production by the milking herd can be reduced by feeding less alfalfa (reduces urine), feeding more starch (reduces manure), and reducing crude protein intake (reduces urine and manure). Careful prior consideration of any planned feeding change by the herd nutritionist is highly recommended to minimize risk of lowered herd performance.  There are many factors affecting manure production and nutrient quality and Mario Marti is one of the  authors of the study and he says it gives you a... “point by point on each component.”