On farm composting manual

Click the button below to download the manual for your new Worm Factory We have converted the instructional DVD to digital format in order to conserve natural resources. You can view the video below anytime you wish:. Would you like to get better at worm composting? Do you sell smaller amounts of material? How much material can I fit in my pickup truck or trailer? Do I have to load myself?

If you have an open truck bed or trailer, we will load for you. How much material do I need? Here are some helpful tips for coverage of Farm Compost or Supersoil.

Do you deliver? We offer limited delivery within the state of Michigan. What materials do you have available for purchase? Disposal Services. What materials are accepted for disposal? Wood chips Food waste limited to businesses only at this time Paper lawn bags. What materials are not accepted for disposal? Do you accept food waste?

Food waste disposal is limited to businesses only at this time. Regional Resources. Public Records. Contact DEP. Page Content. On-Farm Composting Composting recycles organic wastes into a valuable resource.

The benefit of this is that space and time are saved by eliminating the external pad and not hauling the manure out of the pen. Other ways to incorporate oxygen include using passively aerated windrows and aerated static piles. Passively aerated windrow systems require peat moss, wood chips or some type of material to be added to increase porosity. Perforated pipes are placed within the pile to allow airflow.

No mechanical mixing is required, but the windrow should be constructed above 6 to 12 inches of compost or peat moss and covered by a layer of compost or peat moss. This covering insulates the pile and absorbs excess moisture. An aerated static compost pile is similar to passively aerated windrows but has fans that force air through the perforated pipes.

Rynk et al. After the heating cycles have subsided, compost usually is piled for storage while awaiting field applications. This month long or longer process is known as curing. Applying immature compost can cause issues that include malodors, insect swarms, nitrogen immobilization and phytotoxicity Mathur et al. Compost maturity is strongly related to microbial activities during the composting process. Producers have many options to assess compost maturity.

Options include sending samples to laboratories, checking pile temperatures to ensure that the pile is near the ambient temperature Figure 3 and kits that give colormetric readings of carbon dioxide and ammonia emissions. Manure composts not only improve soil physical and chemical characteristics; they also are a good source of fertilizer for crop production.

However, much of the nitrogen is tied up in complex organic compounds immobilized and is not immediately ready for plant uptake, whereas commercial fertilizers are predominantly plant-available. Cropland soils and compost should be tested for nutrients. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium tend to be the most limiting nutrients required by crops Coyne and Thompson, Applications of compost must be based on crop needs.

Manure applications usually are based on nitrogen needs for that crop North Dakota Department of Health, Because of this, nutrient management plans may need to be based upon phosphorus management. This change in management can prevent nutrient loading and high levels of phosphorus that can accumulate when not properly managed and monitored Spargo et al. Sampling and testing soil for nutrients can alleviate nutrient loading.

Crop and environmental benefits may not occur if the finished composted product is not tested and properly applied. Once cured, compost samples should be taken within the pile at various points and mixed thoroughly to account for variability.

Samples should be tested as soon as possible or kept in cold storage until they can be sent to a laboratory for analysis. Keep in mind that many testing labs treat compost nutrient availability as if it were raw manure approximately 50 percent nitrogen, 80 percent phosphorus and 90 percent potassium of the total nutrients are plant-available the first growing season.

Compost nutrient availability is different and producers need to account for the differences. This difference is due to the increased stability of compost. Eghball and Power found in a four-year study that 15 percent of the total nitrogen in beef feedlot compost was plant-available the first year and 8 percent of the nitrogen was mineralized the second year.

Wen et al. A greenhouse study conducted by Bar-Tall et al. Because of immobilization and the possibility of nutrient loading, compost fertilizer applications may need to be supplemented with conventional fertilizers.

Eghball and Power tested different management strategies compost applications based on nitrogen or phosphorus and conventional fertilizer. They found that managing composts based on phosphorus and supplementing the other nutrient requirements with conventional fertilizers yielded equal or greater corn yields. Compost should be applied with a calibrated spreader. This ensures that the proper amount of nutrients is applied and also lessens the chance of polluting. Manure spreaders can be calibrated various ways.

Manure needs to be managed properly to be composted properly. This ensures that the pile will heat and convert to compost effectively. Surface and ground water proximity are important for compost site selection.

The compost site needs to be in an area not prone to contamination of groundwater by leaching or where leachate can run off to surface water. Instead of viewing manure as a waste, producers can begin to view it as a product that can be substituted for commercial fertilizer and as an economic resource. Composting is an effective manure management tool that reduces volume, kills pathogens and weed seeds, and also improves soil health and fertility. However, soil and compost should be tested for nutrients.

Applying compost with a calibrated spreader ensures that crop yield goals will be met and reduces the chance of pollution. The volume reduction of composting manure can save producers money. Bar-Tal, A. Yermiyahu, J. Beraud, M. Keinan, R. Rosenbery, D. Zohar, V. Rosen and P. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium uptake by wheat and their distribution in soil following successive, annual compost applications.

Carpenter-Boggs, L. Composting animal mortality resource notebook. Morris, Minn. Coyne, M. Math for soil scientists. Eghball, B.