2024 Projects: Value of Manure
What are the Nitrogen Value and Yield Benefits of Manure?
Manure is a tremendous valuable nutrient source that can help build soil organic matter, enhance nutrient cycling, and in general improve soil health and climate resilience (improved yield stability, i.e. reduced year to year yield variability) despite weather extremes. Manure use can offset the need for synthetic fertilizer, ensuring a reduced environmental footprint for crop production, benefiting farm economics, agronomic production, and contributing to climate change mitigation. However, very few studies have quantified the benefits of manure in terms of nitrogen fertilizer replacement and yield and forage quality benefits and crop production economics. Quantification of nitrogen credits and yield benefits is needed to advance manure management in future years.
In 2022, we initiated a 3-year study based on two questions: (1) how much nitrogen can be credited to various manure sources; and (2) what are the corn grain and silage yield benefits of fall or spring applied manure?
If you are interested in participating, contact Quirine Ketterings (qmk2@cornell.edu or 607-255-3061). You can also write to: Quirine Ketterings, Nutrient Management Spear Program, Department of Animal Science, Cornell University, 323 Morrison Hall, Ithaca NY 14853.
Goals
-
Our goals are to evaluate the value of various manure sources, applied in the fall or in the spring, with or without incorporation or injection, for corn silage and/or grain.
Funding Sources
This project has been sponsored by grants from the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP), New York Farm Viability Institute, and federal formula funds.
Additional Resources
- Invitation to Participate (PDF January 11, 2024)
- Protocol (PDF; January 11, 2024)
- Farm identity is kept confidential.
- Cornell confidentiality statement.
- Processing/Cleaning Corn Silage and Grain Yield Monitor Data for Standardized Yield Maps across Farms, Fields, and Years.
- Instructions for CSNT Sampling (NMSP).
Farmer Impact Stories
Fact Sheets
- Agronomy Factsheet #31: Corn Stalk Nitrate Test (CSNT).
- Agronomy Factsheet #63: Fine-Tuning Nitrogen Management for Corn.
- Agronomy Factsheet #72: Taking Corn Stalk Nitrate Test Sample after Corn Silage Harvest.
- Agronomy Factsheet #77: Nitrogen for Corn; Management Options.
- Agronomy Factsheet #78: Adaptive Management of Nitrogen for Corn.
- Agronomy Factsheet #98: Nitrogen Uptake of Corn.
- Agronomy Factsheet #99: Nitrogen Rate Trials in Corn.
- Agronomy Factsheet #104: Grain Yield Monitor Calibration.
- Agronomy Factsheet #105: Increase Yield Monitor Data Accuracy and Reduce Time Involved in Data Cleaning.
Extension Articles
- Ramos-Tanchez, J.C., K. Workman, A. Wilder, J. Degni, Q.M. Ketterings (2023). Manure can offset nitrogen fertilizer needs and increase corn silage yield; Value of Manure Project 2022 update. What's Cropping Up? February 2023.
- Wittmeyer, M. (2023). Farmers gain key insights from manure evaluation studies. Cornell CALS Newsroom.
- Godwin, Q.M. Ketterings, K.J. Czymmek, T. Dumond, and D. Young (2018). Nutrient boom allows for mid-season manure application in corn. What's Cropping Up? 228(3): 52-53.
- Sadeghpour, A., K.J. Czymmek, Q.M. Ketterings (2016). Value of manure lingers long after application. Eastern DairyBusiness. The Manager. 8(2): 37-38.
Journal Articles
- Ketterings, Q.M., G. Godwin, P. Barney, J.R. Lawrence, B. Aldrich, T. Kilcer, K.J. Czymmek, and B. Gloy (2013a). Shallow mixing of surface soil and liquid dairy manure conserves nitrogen while retaining surface residue. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 33: 507-517.
- Ketterings, Q.M, G.S. Godwin, S.N. Swink, and K.J. Czymmek (2013b). Can manure replace the need for starter nitrogen fertilizer? Agronomy Journal 105: 1597-1605.
- Sadeghpour, A., Q.M. Ketterings, G. Godwin, and K.J. Czymmek (2017). Shifting from N-based to P-based manure management maintains soil test phosphorus dynamics in a long-term corn and alfalfa rotation. Agronomy for Sustainable Development. doi: 10.1007/s13593-017-0416-z.