For several millennia, manure has been used as fertilizer in agriculture. Researchers have traced the practice as far back as 7,900 years ago by early farmers in Europe.
Now, producers continue to innovate this ancient management practice — including using fertigation systems to apply manure fertilizer.
As with any nutrient management approach, in-season adaptation is still key to optimize application decisions, protect yield and crop health, and improve profitability.
But first: a little background on what a manure fertigation system is, the potential benefits, and how Sentinel is helping farmers optimize it.
What is manure fertigation?
Similar to chemical fertigation, manure fertigation simply involves applying liquid manure to crops via an irrigation system. Farmers often get liquid manure from waste lagoons — either their own, if they’re involved in animal agriculture, or from nearby farmers’ operations.
As irrigation systems have continued to evolve and improve, manure fertigation has become more of an option for many producers.
One emerging strategy we’ve noticed more recently has been the use of 360 rain systems to apply manure. This equipment has enabled supplemental irrigation and manure fertigation in traditionally dryland crop production geographies. A 360 rain system can move autonomously through a field on a predetermined track, break up solid particles, and empower timely applications.
How Sentinel is working with manure fertigation systems
As more farmers turn to manure fertigation on their operations, we’re busy figuring out how Sentinel can fit into that puzzle. We’re currently running one trial on a cornfield in Iowa that uses manure fertigation via a 360 rain system. Results have been positive so far, but we’ll know final results around December.
We also have a handful of non-trial farmers who use manure fertigation and will keep a close eye on how this might impact their yields and profitability.
Why farmers might consider manure fertigation
Manure fertigation is still an emerging strategy and has not been widely adopted yet. It may also not be the best fit for some operations.
But there are several potential benefits to integrating this system:
Proactively use waste: Manure from lagoons is plentiful, especially depending on the region of the country you farm in. Finding a way to positively utilize that manure can help reduce waste on nearby land.
Improve sustainability: Using more manure fertilization can help reduce the amount of chemical fertilizer you need for your crops. This can both reduce your carbon footprint and lower your input costs.
Open the door to a new market: For farmers who switch completely to manure fertigation, this creates an opportunity for organic operations.
Get more ROI from your irrigation system: If your operation already has an irrigation system, why not use it for more than just water? The more uses you can find for that up-front investment, the better your long-term ROI will be.
Potential downsides to evaluate
Despite the benefits, as with any management system, there are possible drawbacks to consider. Some risks to evaluate include:
Potential solids: Although effluent from lagoons is mostly liquid, there’s always the risk of solid particles. These can go through drip lines and clog the emitters or plug nozzles in your pressurized sprinkler irrigation system. However, improvements to filtration systems in recent years has helped lower this risk.
Potential human health hazards: When applying manure via an irrigation system, there is the potential to spread harmful pathogens, which can impact food safety further down the value chain. Proper management is critical if you choose to integrate a manure fertigation system.
Increased odor: The use of manure, of course, comes with the risk of unfortunate smells. However, manure via fertigation usually presents less of an odor problem, since the manure is diluted in the irrigation water.
With these risks in mind, it’s extremely important to monitor in-season nutrient concentrations in the manure you’re using in your operation.
Chemical vs manure fertigation: You still need in-season adaptation
Regardless of which style fertigation you utilize, in-season management is still key. Being able to optimize your management decisions can help prevent over and underapplication, reduce waste, improve crop health, and increase yields.
According to research from Penn State, “Because the cost of installing an irrigation system and the apparent ease of pumping manure, overapplication of nutrients is easy. Close attention to daily, monthly, and annual application depths is essential.”
To avoid this overapplication problem, you need a tool that supports in-season adaptation. N-Time helps farmers understand when to apply (and not apply) fertilizer, based on real-time crop health. This is helpful to decide when to fertigate, of course — but N-Time also tells you when to avoid fertigating to reduce the risk of saturation or runoff.
Optimize your fertigation decisions with N-Time
For those who already use fertigation on the farm (with chemical nitrogen), it might be worth considering how local manure sources could be used within your fertigation plans.
And if you’re already using manure fertigation at your operation, it’s time to think about how to do this practice more strategically. With more in-season crop management powered by N-Time’s data and recommendations, you can stop relying so much on guesswork about when to make applications.
With N-Time, a more targeted approach is within reach. We can create a product within the N-Time software that accounts for the concentration of nitrogen in the manure, then use that product to specify the correct injection rate — which will give your crop the recommended amount of nitrogen to be at its healthiest.
Contact the Sentinel team if you have questions about manure or chemical fertigation, or how to use N-Time to optimize your management practices.
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