News

Winter weather causing manure backlogs

A late harvest and early winter are causing manure storage issues for dairy farmers.

Edge Dairy Cooperative president Brody Stapel tells Brownfield some dairy farmers haven’t had enough time or decent conditions to incorporate manure onto fields before winter.

“I talked to a custom manure hauler the other day and he said there aren’t enough tanks in Wisconsin to move the amount of manure that we have to move in the amount of time that we have—so there are some serious issues.”

He says those without enough storage are looking into alternative solutions.

“There’s even talk of bringing manure to waste treatment plants and paying to have it cleaned and scrubbed.”

The eastern Wisconsin dairyman says he’s still waiting for his custom haulers to arrive.

“We had a lot of prevent plant acres in our neighborhood, those neighbors are getting free manure this year because my crops are still standing on my fields.”

Stapel says the poor harvest season is also causing forage quality concerns and the potential for more winterkill to alfalfa.

Brownfield interview with Edge during NAFB Convention

Add Comment

Your email address will not be published.


 

Stay Up to Date

Subscribe for our newsletter today and receive relevant news straight to your inbox!