The project goal is to bring the equivalent of 1,000 dairy cows into compliance during a three year period. Inquiries about the project have resulted in producers wanting to bring dairies milking over 700 cows in compliance. A portion of these nutrients leave a dairy if left uncontrolled. Therefore, developing best management practices to help producers store these nutrients until they can be applied and used by crops will lead to improvements in water quality. Anticipated improvements will also occur because producers will not have to applied manure to frozen or saturated cropland.
Nutrients potentially leave a field during snow melts if the ground is frozen.
Applications of manure to saturated ground increases soil compaction within a field and has a negative impact on soil quality. 44 Waters Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Ks. All educational programs and materials are available without discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.