Ditch old manure woes! In-season application turns waste into liquid gold, boosting yields & your dairy’s bottom line. Unlock manure’s true power.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Traditional dairy manure management often leads to nutrient loss, environmental concerns, and missed economic opportunities. This article argues for a shift towards in-season manure application, leveraging technologies like dragline systems, hard hose reels, and high-clearance applicators to apply nutrients when crops need them most. By adopting these innovative methods, dairy producers can significantly enhance nutrient use efficiency, potentially increase crop yields by 10-15%, reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers, and lessen their environmental footprint, particularly through reduced methane emissions and nutrient runoff. While initial investment and operational learning curves present challenges, the long-term economic and sustainability benefits position in-season application as a critical strategy for transforming manure from a liability into a valuable farm asset. Ultimately, it calls for a re-evaluation of conventional practices to unlock the “liquid gold” within dairy operations.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Transform Manure into an Asset: In-season application allows dairy farms to maximize the nutrient value of manure (N, P, K, organic matter), reducing fertilizer costs and improving soil health.
• Key Technologies Unlock Potential: Dragline systems, hard hose reels (e.g., Cadman CMA), and high-clearance applicators extend application windows into the growing season, enabling nutrient delivery when crops are actively uptaking.
• Significant Yield and Efficiency Gains: Properly timed in-season application, especially with incorporation, can lead to notable crop yield increases (reported 10-15% in some cases) and better nutrient utilization compared to traditional methods.
• Environmental Benefits: In-season application can reduce nutrient losses (leaching, runoff, volatilization) and methane emissions from storage, contributing to more sustainable dairy farming.
• Economic Viability Requires Analysis: While offering substantial long-term ROI through savings and yield, these systems require significant initial investment and careful farm-specific economic assessment.

The hard truth? Most dairy producers are squandering millions in potential profits through outdated manure handling practices. While you’re busy treating manure as a disposal problem, forward-thinking producers are using revolutionary in-season application methods to slash fertilizer costs, boost yields by as much as 10-15% in some cases, and transform their operation’s environmental footprint. The dairy industry’s most valuable untapped resource isn’t genetics or feed efficiency being pumped into your lagoon.

If you’re still relying on traditional fall and spring manure applications, you’re watching money leach away with every rainfall, and you might as well be pouring milk down the drain. Just as precision feed management revolutionized ration formulation, innovative in-season application methods are helping progressive producers capture more value from every gallon of effluent while simultaneously addressing parlor-to-field labor bottlenecks and environmental concerns. But which system makes sense for your operation? And what’s the real ROI when milk margins are already razor-thin?

The Uncomfortable Truth About How You’re Currently Handling Manure

Truthfully, traditional manure management approaches aren’t just outdated; they’re fundamentally broken. The average Holstein produces about 150 pounds of manure daily, creating a constant management challenge that grows exponentially with herd size. When your slurry is 90% water, you’re essentially paying to transport and apply mostly H₂O, making the nutrient-to-mass ratio painfully inefficient.

Most dairy operations still follow their grandfathers’ decades-old model: store manure in lagoons through the growing season, then apply it all during narrow windows in fall or early spring when fields are empty. This approach creates multiple problems:

1. Massive nutrient losses through ammonia volatilization, nitrate leaching, and phosphorus runoff.
2. Concentrated labor demands during already busy planting and harvest times.
3. Elevated greenhouse gas emissions from extended storage periods.
4. Soil compaction from heavy equipment on wet spring fields.
5. Wasted opportunity to match nutrient availability with crop demand.

The numbers don’t lie: A typical slurry dairy manure may contain 25 pounds of N, 11 pounds of P₂O₅, and 33 pounds of K₂O, for a potential nutrient value of around $30 per 1,000 gallons. However, poor application timing and methods mean you capture only a fraction of that value. A critical issue is the N:P ratio imbalance in manure. Crops typically require an N:P ratio nearer to 8:1, while manure is often closer to 1:1. Applying manure to meet nitrogen needs often leads to phosphorus over-application and buildup, increasing runoff risk.

How much money are you flushing away annually? For a 1,000-cow dairy, if not managed effectively, this could represent foregoing significant soil amendment value. Consider that the Iowa State University study by Kliebenstein and Luvsandagva (2021) found the total nutrient value in applied manure averaged 2.03 per cow per year. Yet many farms continue business as usual, seemingly content to watch nutrients and profits evaporate into thin air.

Research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL Water Program) has shown that simply shifting from fall to spring pre-plant manure application reduced nitrogen leaching by 6% and increased corn yields by 4%. But that’s the beginning of what’s possible when you rethink your manure application approach.

The In-Season Revolution: Application Methods That Challenge Convention

Progressive dairy producers are breaking free from the traditional application window constraints by adopting systems that allow manure application during the growing season, when crops need nutrients. Three primary technologies are leading this revolution:

Dragline/Umbilical Systems

These systems pump liquid manure directly from storage (pit or lagoon) through a main supply line to the field edge, then through a flexible drag hose to a tractor-mounted applicator toolbar. This eliminates the need for heavy tankers traversing your fields, with flow rates often reaching up to 2,500 gallons per minute.

Why aren’t more dairy farmers utilizing this technology? While initial investment is a factor, the real innovation is how these systems can be adapted for in-season application. Research led by Glen Arnold at Ohio State University has extensively documented that draglines can effectively side-dress corn up to the V4 growth stage (four collared leaves). Applying beyond this stage, such as at V5, has resulted in significant yield reductions, around 40-50 bushels per acre in some trials, due to hose damage to plants. Key advantages include:

• Impressively high flow rates, allowing rapid application.
• Significantly reduced soil compaction compared to tanker systems.
• Lower labor requirements (typically 1.5-2 people can operate the system).
• Compatibility with various incorporation tools like Dribble bars, shallow disk injectors (coulter injectors), and sweep injectors, minimizing odor and N loss.

The limitations? You’re generally restricted to earlier crop growth stages, and fields ideally need to be relatively close to manure storage (though some operators pump up to three miles or use frac tanks). Sand-laden manure can also create challenges, and firm soil conditions are preferred to prevent hose scouring or crop damage.

Hard Hose Reel Systems

Systems like the Cadman Continuous Manure Applicator (CMA) represent the next evolution, allowing application in significantly taller crops. These feature a large-diameter, semi-rigid hose wound onto a mobile reel unit. The hose is pulled out by a tractor with an injector toolbar, and the reel actively rewinds it on the return pass.

This approach extends the application window considerably, allowing side-dressing of manure in crops up to 3-4 feet tall. That’s a game-changer for timing nutrients. Cadman literature suggests this is optimal timing for corn nutrient uptake.

Farmers using the Cadman CMA system have reported yield increases of 10-15% in crops like corn and soybeans due to timely side-dressing. These systems also minimize crop damage thanks to features like a patented swivel arm managing the hose during turns.

High-Clearance Applicators

High-clearance machines provide the answer for the latest possible in-season application timing—these specialized units, self-propelled or trailed implements, are explicitly designed to operate in tall, standing crops.

Manufacturers like Hagie (now part of John Deere) produce self-propelled sprayers (e.g., Hagie STS series) with exceptional ground clearance (up to 72 inches), which can be retrofitted with specialized toolbars for side-dressing manure. These machines allow nutrient delivery during critical crop development stages when nutrient demand peaks, well beyond the V4/V5 corn stage.

While these systems represent the highest capital investment, they offer unmatched flexibility for late-season application.

Why Your Soil and Crops Will Thank You (And Your Banker Will Too)

The benefits of in-season application extend far beyond operational efficiency. When you align manure application with active crop growth, you fundamentally change how nutrients cycle through your farming system.

Enhanced Nutrient Utilization

By injecting manure directly into the soil during the growing season, you deliver nutrients exactly when crops need them. Research from Virginia Tech demonstrated that shallow coulter-type injection of dairy slurry could nearly double the amount of first-year plant-available nitrogen (PAN) recovered by corn compared to surface broadcasting. Glen Arnold’s work at Ohio State University showed that when manure was incorporated at side-dress, corn yields were approximately 15 bushels per acre higher than when side-dressed in 28% Urea Ammonium Nitrate (UAN). Conversely, surface-applied manure yielded about 20 bushels per acre lower than UAN.

Is your nutrient management plan working, or just creating paperwork? The evidence suggests most farms are still operating on outdated nutrient availability and timing assumptions.

Greenhouse Gas Reductions That Matter (With a Catch)

More frequent manure removal for in-season application can interrupt anaerobic decomposition in storage, reducing methane (CH₄) emissions. This aligns with the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy’s 2050 carbon neutrality pledge. However, be aware of the “GHG seesaw” effect. Practices that reduce CH₄ by promoting aerobic conditions (like soil injection or composting) can sometimes lead to increased nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions, a more potent GHG. A holistic assessment is necessary.

Building Soil That Performs

Manure isn’t just about NPK- it’s a powerful soil builder. Regular manure applications significantly increase Soil Organic Matter (SOM). One long-term study documented an increase in SOM from a baseline of 1.6% to 2.7% in manured plots. This improves soil structure, water retention (organic matter can hold up to 90% of its weight in water), and infiltration. Research has shown an approximate 7% increase in plant-available water content in soils receiving manure applications. Manure also stimulates soil microbial biomass two- to four-fold, crucial for nutrient cycling.

Real Farmers, Real Results

The proof of any innovation comes from those implementing it in the real world.

Mulligan Farm’s Dragline Conversion (Avon, NY)

Mulligan Farm, a 1,200-cow dairy, transitioned from traditional spreaders to a drag hose system. Their motivations included worn-out equipment, road time, field compaction, and general inefficiency. After the switch, their application rate increased from approximately 24,000 gallons per hour (two tankers, two people) to around 50,000 gallons per hour with the drag hose, requiring only 1.5 people. Benefits included reduced soil compaction, less reliance on commercial fertilizers, and noticeable odor reduction.

Hard Hose Success Stories

Farmers using the Cadman CMA system have reported 10-15% yield increases in corn and soybeans when manure is side-dressed at 3-4 feet tall. Initially conceptualized by the Alig Brothers of Ohio, the system is praised for enabling one-person operation, replacing synthetic fertilizer needs, and eliminating significant soil compaction.

The Economic Reality: Does In-Season Application Pay?

Let’s talk dollars and cents. The initial investment in advanced application technology is substantial. But here’s what the equipment dealers won’t tell you: the economics can pencil out surprisingly well when considering all factors.

For large-scale operations (e.g., 20 million gallons per year), owning a dragline system can offer a favorable ROI in approximately three years compared to custom application costs (which might range from $260,000-$350,000 annually for such volumes). Operational costs for dragline application have been estimated between $0.005 and $0.01 per gallon.

Hard hose systems like the Cadman CMA claim a payback period of two pumping seasons or less under favorable conditions, driven by yield increases and fertilizer savings.

The Iowa State University study by Kliebenstein and Luvsandagva (2021) found the total cost of storing, hauling, and applying manure averaged $306.13 per cow per year. After subtracting the nutrient value of $202.03 per cow, the net cost averaged $104.10 per cow. Improving nutrient capture directly impacts this.

What’s Stopping You? Overcoming the Hurdles

It’s not all smooth sailing. Real barriers exist:

• High Initial Capital Costs: Specialized equipment is expensive.
• Skilled Labor: Operating and maintaining these systems requires expertise, which can be scarce.
• Narrow Operational Windows: Application is constrained by crop stage, weather, and firm soil conditions.
• Learning Curve: Mulligan Farm noted that there’s an initial “solid week of frustration” mastering new systems.
• Manure Variability: Nutrient content isn’t consistent, requiring regular testing for accurate application.
• Farm Layout & Topography: Not all fields are suited for every system.

Before You Invest, Ask These Questions:

• What is your current annual fertilizer bill for relevant acres?
• What are your current custom manure application costs or the operational costs of your owned system?
• What is your actual manure volume, and how far do the fields lie from storage?
• Do you have the labor and skills, or can you acquire them, for a new system?
• What are your specific soil types and compaction risks?
• What is a realistic projection of yield impact and fertilizer savings for your operation?

A critical but often overlooked economic factor: In-season application dramatically reduces peak labor demands during the already hectic planting and harvest seasons. Why are we still cramming all manure work into two narrow windows when labor is already thin? By spreading manure work throughout the growing season, you’re making more efficient use of your workforce.

The Future Is Here: Precision Manure Management

While the systems we’ve discussed represent significant advances, we’re just scratching the surface. The next frontier combines these application methods with precision agriculture technologies:

• IoT, AI, Sensors, and Robotics: Automated systems like robotic scrapers and intelligent pumps are improving efficiency. On-the-go manure constituent sensors are a key area of interest.
• Plasma Treatment for Nutrient Enhancement: GEA Farm Technologies is developing plasma systems to treat liquid manure, prevent ammonia loss, and stabilize nitrogen.
• Manure Granulation/Pelletization: Creating denser, uniform products for easier handling and precise application.
• Variable Rate Technology (VRT): Combining flow meters, GPS, and potentially real-time sensing to adjust application rates across fields based on specific needs.

These technologies transform what was once considered a waste management problem into a precisely managed nutrient resource.

The Bottom Line: Transform Your Manure Liability into an Asset

The dairy industry has been stuck in the past for too long regarding manure management. In-season manure application represents one of the most significant opportunities for dairy operations to improve profitability and environmental sustainability. The days of treating manure as merely a waste disposal problem is over. Progressive producers now consider it a valuable nutrient resource that demands careful management.

If you’re considering these technologies:

1. Conduct a thorough farm assessment of volumes, storage, field layouts, soil types, labor, and capital.
2. Invest in Testing: Regular manure nutrient analysis and soil testing are fundamental.
3. Perform a Farm-Specific Economic Study: Costs, benefits, savings, yield impacts.
4. Consider a Phased Approach: Start smaller, adapt existing equipment, or use custom applicators first.
5. Prioritize Soil Health & Minimize Compaction: Choose systems and practices accordingly.
6. Seek Knowledge: Consult extension specialists, experienced applicators, and other farmers.
7. Ensure Operator Training & Safety: Crucial for efficiency and minimizing risks.

While challenges exist, the potential benefits make in-season manure application a compelling frontier.

The question isn’t whether you should consider in-season manure applications and how quickly you can implement them before your competitors gain the edge. As fertilizer prices remain volatile and regulatory pressures increase, those who master manure as a precision nutrient source will be positioned for long-term success.

It’s time to challenge the status quo of your manure handling system. Your next technological leap might not be in the parlor or the barn, but in how you manage what emerges from them. Will you continue with practices from the last century, or join the progressive producers turning manure from a liability into liquid gold?

Learn more:

• Flush Your Profits Down the Drain? How Manure Millionaires Are Cashing In This article highlights how innovative farmers are turning manure from a costly necessity into a profit center through various technologies, including in-season application, and contrasts this with traditional practices. It aligns well by showcasing the broader economic potential of advanced manure management.
• Unlock the Secret Manure Strategy Boosting Dairy Farm Yields This piece focuses specifically on manure injection techniques, a key method often used in conjunction with in-season application systems. It delves into how injecting manure improves nutrient absorption, soil health, and crop yields, offering a deeper dive into one of the application methods discussed.
• Manure Management Systems in Dairy Farming: Sustainable Practices for Environmental Stewardship This article provides a broader overview of various manure management systems, including anaerobic digestion and composting, alongside land application. It sets the context for why innovative application methods are crucial within the larger framework of sustainable dairy farming and environmental responsibility.

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