Topdressing wheat with liquid swine manure

By Glen Arnold, CCA, Ohio State University Extension

With the month of March moving along, the topdressing of wheat fields with nitrogen fertilizer will soon start. Given the current fertilizer prices more livestock producers may be considering applying liquid swine manure as a top-dress for wheat

The key to applying the correct amount of manure to fertilize wheat is to know the manure’s nitrogen content. Most manure tests reveal total nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen and organic nitrogen amounts. The ammonia nitrogen portion is readily available for plant growth. The organic nitrogen portion takes considerably longer to mineralize and generally will not be available when wheat uptakes the majority of its nitrogen before mid-June.

Most deep-pit swine finishing manure will contain between 30 and 40 pounds of ammonia nitrogen per 1,000 gallons. Finishing buildings with bowl waters and other water conservation systems can result in nitrogen amounts towards the upper end of this range.… Continue reading