Farmers warned of dangers of applying manure on cracked, dry soil

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MADISON ? With record hot and dry weather this year allowing deep, wide cracks to develop in many farm fields, state agriculture and natural resource officials are urging farmers to inspect fields for such cracks and take other precautions when spreading manure to reduce the risk of manure entering drain tiles and winding up in lakes, streams and groundwater.

?We want to alert farmers to the dangers that applying manure to fields with deep cracks poses,? says Andrew Craig, who leads Department of Natural Resources nutrient management efforts. ?We encourage farmers to inspect their fields before applying manure and advise they either avoid spreading on such areas or take additional actions if they do spread manure.?

Recommendations include working cracked soil with tillage before applying manure and having an emergency response plan and supplies in place so they can respond quickly if there are any problems are found.

?In past years with similar cracking, manure that?s been applied to the surface or injected has flowed down these cracks and directly into tile drains and groundwater,? says Sara Walling, resource planning and water quality section chief of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

In addition to potentially contaminating groundwater and surface water, farmers lose the nutrient value of the manure because it can move below the crop root zone.

Read more at http://www.farms.com/news/farmers-w...plying-manure-on-cracked-dry-soils-53522.aspx
 
 
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