Database Offers Insight on Manure Nutrient Values

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have created a manure nutrient database called ManureDB to offer updated values for manure nutrient estimates. Recent data indicates that nutrient values can vary significantly based on animal diets, genetics and housing, as well as due to manure storage and handling practices. The ManureDB project collects data from laboratories and universities that analyze manure and provides this data to the public in a private and standardized form. This information can help those who use manure as an organic fertilizer source better provide crops with adequate nutrients, and this information can help protect water quality by guiding the siting of livestock facilities and planning for appropriately scaled spreading areas. The wide variability in results captured in the database underlines the importance of manure testing, developers say.