6 Simple Ways to Manage the Manure on Your Farm
The importance and value of manure management on the farm can never be overemphasized.
Using the best management practices in managing manure has numerous and vital benefits not only does it help in protecting the environment,
When the manure is managed properly so as to not cause diseases, it can improve the health and well-being of your farm animals, and that of your farm workers and increase your profit margin considerably.
If manure is not managed properly it can come with a lot of challenges such as polluting or contaminating water around the manure source, it is capable of coursing diseases to your farm animals.
Piles or manure that are not properly stored can find their way into wells, underground water sources such as boreholes etc.
Proper manure management can also go a long way in preventing a lot of diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans such as E.coli.
Other illnesses can be gotten from a dirty environment such as diarrhoea or cholera.
Here are the seven 7 simple ways you can adequately manage manure on your farm:
compost manure
Proper Storage of your Manure
Manure storage is crucial to manure management.
After each cycle of birds, though depending on the type of animal on your farm, the manure should be stored in a well-secured location that is free from dampness or wetness i.e. there should be covering or a roof over it, especially during the rainy season.
To prevent outbreak or pollution of the manure and to sustain and maintain its dryness. Dry manure is mostly preferred by farmers because it is easier to apply and use on the farm than wet ones.
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Composting of manure
Composting is a healthy and better way to manage manure by mixing a substantial quantity of loamy soil and animal manure be it goat, rabbit, chicken or cow dung.
Over time the manure will mix and dissolve together thereby foaming a good source of organic fertilizer that is beneficial to plant growth.
At the same time reducing pollution to the barest minimum and eliminating to a larger extent water contamination.
Environmental Consideration
It is very important to take into strong consideration environmental factors when storing manure care must be taken to store manure away from water bodies, especially the ones meant for human consumption in other words keep manure away from areas that are pruned to erosion to avoid potential runoff risk and contamination as explained earlier.
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The use of good bedding material
The Use of good bedding materials at the initial stage of stocking your birds.
Particularly if you keep poultry birds, bedding materials such as wood shavings, sawdust rice husk etc.
The bedding materials will absorb the moisture in the manure and help you manage it over time with the help of working tools such as rakes, shovels etc.
If you constantly rake and turn the manure, it will help keep the manure dry and also reduce the strong odour that normally comes with manure that is not mixed with good bedding.
Organic farm manure
Constantly collecting the manure
Manure especially chicken dung that is not mixed with good bedding materials.
Produces a very strong smell that can be very offensive not only to the farmer but also to his neighbours in terms of backward chicken farming.
I remember vividly some years back when I had a problem with my neighbour who kept birds in his backyard without proper manure management and no bedding
The odour became strong and offensive which made other neighbors report him to the city officials because he couldn’t manage his manure properly.
I also keep chickens but mine don’t produce an offensive smell in the neighbourhood, because I constantly turn the manure using good bedding materials such as sawdust or wood shavings.
If you know that you cannot use good bedding materials to form compost or manage the manure on your farm.
You can constantly collect the manuals to avoid pile-ups that will generate offensive and strong smells that will disturb the entire neighbourhood.
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Creating a market for your manure
In most parts of the world organic manure is one of the most sought-after manure, because of its lasting effects on soil and plants, most farmers believe that it lasts longer in the soil than inorganic fertilizer. You can plant on and on, on the same plot of land for more than 2 years, making the manure most suitable for farmers, especially in the part of the world.
You can always reach out to some of the farmers who are all around you in the neighbourhood or nearby town as soon as you bring in your animals.
You can start contacting them, that you have manure for sale to avoid excessive stockpiling of the manure especially if you don’t have a storage facility for storing the manure.
Conclusion
Finally, the essence of good manure management is to save yourself a lot of trouble such as environmental pollution, disease-causing organisms to both animals and humans, water contamination etc.
On a lighter note trouble neighbors, especially if you live in an urban area and you are keeping backyard chickens or live in a community where houses are built close to each other.
In order to save yourself from trouble and be a good neighbor it is very important you manage your manure properly and save your environment from offensive smell from your farm.
Doing the needful as explained earlier, because living peacefully with neighbours is far more important than making trouble because of manure that is not properly managed.
