With the hog industry growing at rapid rates in Saskatchewan the need to be able to low disturbance apply swine manure is being demanded by direct seeders. Gordon Hultgreen with Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute says there will be solutions in the near future. He is managing several widespread research projects that he is confident will bring results.
Norm Janzen with Pork Central, reports that there are 1.3 million hogs in the province presently. Production projects take about two years to come on stream. There are enough projects already underway to bring that hog number to 3 million by the year 2000. Many of these projects are 600 to 2400 sow operations. Each sow will produce an average of 22 to 24 market hogs every year.
One of the most odorous byproducts to deal with in this presently booming industry is manure production. A 600 sow farrow to finish operation produces 3.65 million gallons every year. This manure is not just a waste but has value as a form of plant fertilizer. Under present production methods the manure is about 5 to 6 % solids. It contains an average of 30 lbs of nitrogen, 10 lbs of phosphorus, 13 lbs of potassium, and 2 lbs of sulfur per 1000 gallons. Fifty to seventy per cent of this nitrogen is available to a crop in the year of application. Similar figures of availability for phosphorus are about 30%, and for potassium are 90%. To be sure of getting 50 lbs. per acre of plant available nitrogen in the year of application, 3300 gallons would need to be applied. This means a 600 sow barn could fertilize about 1100 acres of crop land annually.
Hultgreen, in cooperation with the University of Saskatchewan, has a multi-year project west of Humboldt evaluating crop response to injected hog and cattle manure. He has 15 treatments altogether applying varying rates of manure over the next three years compared to one of the standard methods of applying nitrogen fertilizer - banded urea. One of the treatments includes applying a high rate of manure once every three years. Evaluations will be done on long term responses and the effect on soil and water quality. He has also compared injection to: broadcasting and incorporating, a spike and straight boot applicator, and an applicator with 24 inch spaced sweeps. Hultgreen says they are getting fantastic responses to pig manure!
There are a few hurdles to overcome. Saskatchewan residents demand that the application of this manure be environmentally sustainable. This also means minimum smell! Hultgreen suggests that injection is the best method to consider. It has the lowest N losses (0 - 2%) and there is virtually no smell. One hurdle that he has tackled is finding the right equipment to inject high quantities of liquid. Being a strong proponent of direct seeding and finding demand from direct seeders to come up with options that fit their production system, he also wants low disturbance injection. At a direct seeding site southeast of Humboldt, Hultgreen has a research project evaluating 5 openers for low disturbance injection. The openers he is testing are: a large Yetter disk, Dutch angled disc, Bourgault midrow bander, Green Trac disc opener, and Atom Jet C-shank knife.
Another project was set up in the Star City area funded by Agri-Food Innovation Fund and Agriculture Development Fund. It will evaluate the response of dehy alfalfa yield and quality to hog manure injection at varying rates over the next three years. Manure was injected with the Green Trac equipment. Trials were run on both an established and a first year field of alfalfa. The first year field was canola stubble with alfalfa underseeded the year before. An add on to this project was a direct seeded field in the area with pea stubble.
Research results do take time to be generated but with energetic people like Hultgreen working on these projects practical solutions will be coming. Take time to visit one of these sites or watch for advertisements on tours including these sites.