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OCAMM odds & ends

Using cottton briefs to check out soil health.

From Theresa Dirksen (Ag Solutions):
NEW: Data in Agriculture and Manure Application Field Day, October 2 in Celina, Ohio. Learn more about data in agriculture, updates to the Tri-State Fertility Guide, manure application demos, precision application demos and more!  CCA and CLM credits are available.    Flyer

From UNL Water:
Timing manure application to avoid neighbor nuisances.  According to Rick Koelsch with UNL, odors from surface applied manure are highest in the first 36 hours. He provides good examples on how to use weather forecasts, especially wind speed and direction and time of day, to determine the best time and location for application.     Article

From Ohio Ag Net:
Ohio Soil and Water Conservation Commission special meeting on August 30, 2018 in Reynoldsburg. The Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB) Watershed In Distress taskforce/subcommittee will meet to evaluate the recommendation for declaring eight watersheds within the WLEB as watersheds in distress. The meeting is open to the public.     Details

From SWCS Conservation NewsBriefs:
State lawmakers set panel to study Lake Erie’s harmful algae. In response to Ohio Governor Kasich’s executive order that calls for more aggressive approaches to reduce phosphorus runoff from fertilizer and manure applied to cropland, this panel will address the issues.     Article

Manure slipping through (soil) cracks. A Canadian study in which liquid swine manure was surface applied to a clay-rich, cracked soil found that liquids did not move into the subsurface tile drainage. They concluded that preferential flow risks vary with specific soil type, but noted additional research is needed.       Article

Conservation strategy improves Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The USDA NRCS has released a 3-year plan to help farmers implement conservation practices that have been shown to reduce excess nutrient and sediment runoff. These practices have helped reduce nitrogen losses to the watershed by 20% and phosphorus losses by 44% since 2006.     Article

From Manure Manager:
Research explores benefits of manure and cedar mulch. UNL researchers are evaluating the use of a manure-mulch mixture to improve soil health, reduce nutrient losses, and reduce eastern red cedar tree encroachment.     Article

Precision feeding reduces swine herd nutrient requirements and manure nutrient excretions. By formulating diets for individual pigs, Canadian researchers have been able to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus in the manure by 30% and 40%, respectively.     Article

What are denitrifying woodchip bioreactors and how do they help the environment? Water from subsurface tile drains flows through an in-ground reactor. Bacteria in the woodchip media convert nitrates to gas, reducing nitrogen leaving the system by 25-40%.     Article

Making sense of manure technology options. Dana Kirk, MSU, provides an overview of options for treating manure, from recovering nutrients and fiber to generating energy.     Article

Manure runoff reaches Sheboygan River. Heavy rains following several days of manure application at a Wisconsin dairy resulted in manure runoff that has contaminated 11.5 miles of streams and resulted in fish kill, primarily minnows, in two small tributaries. Clean up is underway.    Article

From National Hog Farmer:
Producer shares happy ending of run-in with manure gases.  Trying to save time, a SD farmer who climbed into a manure pit to unclog a pump was overcome by hydrogen sulfide. Thanks to quick, smart decisions by his family, he lived to tell the story 30 years later.     Article