Manure value

Shimmy1 · Dec 18, 2018

Posted this question on Agtalk, figured I'd do it here as well. We picked up a job this week, hauling stockpiled beef cow manure with the sidedump. Forty mile round trip, the guys were looking for about 40 loads, but there is at least 60 or more available. The stuff is free, guy that has it just wants it gone. Anyone know a ballpark figure on what the stuff is worth spread on a field? Just looking for a nice, round average, it hasn't been tested and will not be. Trying to figure out if it's worth it to peddle it all, or if $6 per ton to haul makes it cost prohibitive.

Delmer · Dec 18, 2018

This is the best I could find:

https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/AY/AY-277.html

They say the value is in the P and K, not the nitrogen. Basically around 10-20 pounds each of N P205 K20, so pretty marginal for hauling it 40 miles, then reloading and spreading. Unless you find an organic producer who has to pay more for his NPK.

Sorry, didn't mean to shout.

Shimmy1 · Dec 18, 2018

Delmer said:
This is the best I could find:

https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/AY/AY-277.html

They say the value is in the P and K, not the nitrogen. Basically around 10-20 pounds each of N P205 K20, so pretty marginal for hauling it 40 miles, then reloading and spreading. Unless you find an organic producer who has to pay more for his NPK.

Sorry, didn't mean to shout.

Well, that is pretty promising. At $600 per ton for 11-52 (phosphate) fertilizer, the cost per pound of the phosphate is about $0.60. At 10 lbs per ton, a 25 ton load *should* have at least $150 worth of phosphate alone, and he is getting a load to the field for $140. Plus, he's also getting the K, which is worth more than the phosphate.

funwithfuel · Dec 18, 2018

And I honestly thought this was going to be a political discussion

Shimmy1 · Dec 18, 2018

funwithfuel said:
And I honestly thought this was going to be a political discussion

Sometimes I wish HEF had a political topic like Agtalk does. If you want to post in it, you have to list your full name, or they'll boot you. Good and bad I guess. No, this thread is completely about manure, the real stuff. Nice job to pick up this time of year, can't do anything else. Had to quit at 3 today, however, because Mother Nature has her seasons confused. We were 45° today, and there was 2" of loons*** in the corral and out in the field I was trying to dump in.

RZucker · Dec 18, 2018

Shimmy1 said:
Well, that is pretty promising. At $600 per ton for 11-52 (phosphate) fertilizer, the cost per pound of the phosphate is about $0.60. At 10 lbs per ton, a 25 ton load *should* have at least $150 worth of phosphate alone, and he is getting a load to the field for $140. Plus, he's also getting the K, which is worth more than the phosphate.

And depending on the soil type the organic matter is a big boost too.
One of my customers has a large farming operation tied in with a local 1000 cow dairy, they pump liquid from the lagoons through their irrigation system and haul off the solid stuff to spread on open fields all winter. The Dairy paid for the pumping system to get rid of the liquid. The farm has not bought a lick of fertilizer since this was all tied in back in 2009. This is all in sand country and the soil is loving it.
Unfortunately, when the poo trucks break, they are in my shop. The smell makes for fast repairs.

Howey75 · Dec 19, 2018

Another bonus for manure is that it supposedly lasts longer than commercial fertilizers.as in keeps test numbers high longer.guys around here say it’s evident on the yield maps around old farmsteads and it’s probably been 30 years since it had manure on it.and like RZ said organic matter is huge!

bam1968 · Dec 20, 2018

FWIW Earlier this fall I loaded and hauled some cattle manure for a guy. We loaded it on tandem dump trucks and stock piled it in a field. IIRC it was @ 8 mile round trip. Using an estimated 15 ton per load it cost him @$4/ ton to have it loaded and hauled. Still needed to be spread.

I will just throw this out there. I was told by a guy that it takes a year for cattle manure to release the nitrogen into the soil after it has been spread. I consider him to be pretty competent on the subject but by no means an expert. So that might be something a person might want to consider and look into further.

Shimmy1 · Dec 20, 2018

These guys are getting it for about $6/ton. From the research I've done, there is hardly any nitrogen value in this stuff (it's been piled and composting for over 5 years), the real value is the organic matter with a little P and K thrown in. This is marginal ground they want it for (hilltops and some saline spots), but if they can substantially increase the production on these smaller parcels, it will be a positive deal. Just a 30% increase will pay off in 3 years.

RZucker · Dec 21, 2018

Shimmy1 said:
These guys are getting it for about $6/ton. From the research I've done, there is hardly any nitrogen value in this stuff (it's been piled and composting for over 5 years), the real value is the organic matter with a little P and K thrown in. This is marginal ground they want it for (hilltops and some saline spots), but if they can substantially increase the production on these smaller parcels, it will be a positive deal. Just a 30% increase will pay off in 3 years.

Talked with the guy I know today, He figures they spend 3-4$ a ton direct spreading with ten wheelers within a 6-8 mile radius hauling solid material. when they get further out they haul and stockpile and reload the spreaders in the field. the extra handling probably comes close to doubling the cost. Their material is Dairy waste which is a bit hotter in nitrogen than beef lot manure is.

Welder Dave · Dec 22, 2018

I always thought old manure was in high demand and people paid good money for it, way more than $6/ton. If you have somewhere to stock pile it you could probably sell it for about what topsoil is worth.

Delmer · Dec 22, 2018

Piled and composted for 5 years can mean a whole lot of different things as far as the manure is concerned. I'd think it would be worth it to send in a test. If it has composted, then the weight will have been reduced, concentrating the nonvolatile P and K, and even the N might have been stabilized so that even if the percentage is lower by weight than the fresh manure, the available N for next growing season might equal a higher N in fresh manure. Fresh manure spread in the winter will lose N before summer more than composted.

People sure will pay good money for it, just depends on where you can find them.

Shimmy1 · Dec 22, 2018

Welder Dave said:
I always thought old manure was in high demand and people paid good money for it, way more than $6/ton. If you have somewhere to stock pile it you could probably sell it for about what topsoil is worth.

The guys are paying us $6/ton to haul it, the rancher that has it is giving it away, nobody close to him wants it. Kind of hard to believe, but whatever.

Shimmy1 · Dec 22, 2018

Delmer said:
Piled and composted for 5 years can mean a whole lot of different things as far as the manure is concerned. I'd think it would be worth it to send in a test. If it has composted, then the weight will have been reduced, concentrating the nonvolatile P and K, and even the N might have been stabilized so that even if the percentage is lower by weight than the fresh manure, the available N for next growing season might equal a higher N in fresh manure. Fresh manure spread in the winter will lose N before summer more than composted.

People sure will pay good money for it, just depends on where you can find them.

I've been finding conflicting answers on how much N, P, and K might be in it. Since the ranchers only feed grass hay and no grain or silage, common info says the nutriet value is going to be pretty low. Some say there will be almost no N in it. The guys that are getting it aren't at all concerned about the nitrogen, they are using it almost strictly for the organic matter and they say there are many micronutrients you can't buy with commercial fertilizer.

Welder Dave · Dec 29, 2018

I think people want it for their gardens.

old-iron-habit · Dec 29, 2018

A few years ago I pushed a old cattle feeding ground that was 3 ft. deep in old manure into a huge pile for my brother. Before I could haul any home for my own garden a local gravel contractor bought the hole pile. It was rotted to a rich black consistency. The trucker whom is a neighbor sold it for near twice the going price of black dirt in ten yard loads. It all went that same spring. Nope, I never got paid for my work, or got my share.

Shimmy1 · Dec 29, 2018

old-iron-habit said:
A few years ago I pushed a old cattle feeding ground that was 3 ft. deep in old manure into a huge pile for my brother. Before I could haul any home for my own garden a local gravel contractor bought the hole pile. It was rotted to a rich black consistency. The trucker whom is a neighbor sold it for near twice the going price of black dirt in ten yard loads. It all went that same spring. Nope, I never got paid for my work, or got my share.

Sounds just like family.

Tones · Dec 29, 2018

An ole English saying, "where there's muck there's money".

td25c · Feb 4, 2019

Thought about this thread when I heard the story on the AM radio station .

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/nk-manure-quota-01162019142901.html

rondig · Feb 4, 2019

Man we buy it to mix into topsoil around here...our soil is so bad around here we have to use manure to make it work....try a big landscaper.....we prefer sheep...
But old beef works great too

Manure value

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