Perceptions of agricultural extension educators regarding livestock waste management education in the North Central Region

Livestock production in the United States yields large quantities of livestock waste annually. The North Central region of the United States produces a variety of livestock including swine, cattle and poultry. Livestock waste is a rich source of plant nutrients and organic matter. The environmental risks of pollution associated with livestock waste raises major concerns of agricultural educators, researchers and policy makers. Best management practices have been developed for livestock waste management. There is limited research information regarding livestock waste management education.;The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of county extension educators in the North Central region of the United Sates regarding livestock waste management education and its related educational processes.;This study was descriptive and used survey questionnaires to gather research information. A simple random sampling technique was used to draw 360 county extension educators form the North Central region to participate in the study. The findings of this study were based on 201 completed survey questionnaires and generalized over the study population based on controlling non-response error.;This study revealed that county extension educators in the North Central region were predominantly middle-aged males with master\u27s degrees. County extension educators in this study maintained that livestock waste management was a controversial issue and meant different things to different people. Overall, county extension educators indicated positive perceptions regarding livestock waste management; livestock waste management education and the effectiveness of teaching methods used in livestock waste management education. County extension educators were varied in their perceptions regarding the extent to which they used selected teaching methods, teaching tools and the effectiveness of teaching tools.;County extension educators frequently used the educational methods and tools of discussion, lecture-discussion, demonstrations, individualized instruction, field days; newsletters and print/broadcast media. County extension educators indicated that discussions, lecture-discussion, demonstrations, individualized instruction, field days, meetings, problem solving, small-group work, case studies, workshops, computers and the Internet are effective educational methods and tools, but some of which were not used extensively.;Correlations between demographic characteristics and perceptions were negligible to low with a few moderate to very high. The study\u27s findings contributed to the potential redesign of the behavioral intention model based on Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) and Ajzen (1988)

Interaction of Tillage and Nitrogen Rate Effect on Corn Response and N and P Uptakein a Corn-Soybean Rotation

Soil tillage has significant impact on the dynamics of soil moisture and nutrient in the soil systemand the subsequent efficient extraction of soil water and uptake of nutrient by crop plants. Besides incorporating fertilizer and crop residue in the soil system, soil tillage improves soil aeration, the mineralization and availability of N and P and the subsequent uptake of both N and P by crop plants (Carter and Rennie, 1987; Dinnes et al., 2002; House et al., 1984; Varco et al., 1993). Contrary to conventional tillage systems, long-term no-tillage systems enhance greater mineralizable C and N pools in the soil system (Woods and Schuman, 1988; Doran, 1980). Therefore, the uptake of N by crop plants can be potentially changed with different tillage systems and their interactions with different N rates and N application timing. A significant interaction of tillage systems such as no-tillage (NT), conventional tillage (CT) or minimum tillage and N rate was observed on grain N uptake with increasing N removal as N rate increased (Halvorson et al., 2001). Therefore, an understanding of the effect of different tillage systems and their interactions with N rate from different N sources on the dynamics of available N and N uptake by crop plants at different growth stages is critical to the efficient management of N in crop production system. Similarly, plant P uptake is a function of soil moisture availability, the concentration of P in plant tissues, which decreases with plant age and water stress (Payne et al., 1995)

Long-term Tillage and Crop Rotation Effects on Soil Carbon and Soil Productivity in Central Iowa

Tillage system and crop rotation have a significant long-term effect on soil productivity and soil quality components such as soil carbon and other soil physical, biological, and chemical properties. In addition, both tillage and crop rotation have effects on weed and soil disease control. There is a need for a well-defined, long-term tillage and crop rotation study across the different soils and climate conditions in the state. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term effects of different tillage systems and crop rotations on soil productivity

Effects of tillage, nitrogen source and nitrogen rate on corn response and selective soil properties in a corn-soybean rotation

Corn producers in Iowa adopt no-tillage (NT), strip-tillage (ST) or chisel plow (CP) and either commercial fertilizer or liquid swine manure produce corn. The rising cost of commercial N fertilizers raises concerns about using alternative and viable sources of N and P for corn production. The objectives of this study were to evaluate 1) the responses of corn to three tillage treatments (NT, ST and CP) and four N rates (0, 84, 168 and 252 kg N ha−1) of liquid either liquid swine manure or commercial fertilizer N and 2) the effects of tillage on soil temperature, compaction, moisture storage and water extraction by corn root system. The study was conducted at the Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm of Iowa State University near Nashua. The soil at the study site is Kenyon (fine loamy, mixed mesic Typic Hapludolls) soil. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with split-plot arrangement in three replications. The tillage treatments were randomly assigned to each replication as main plots and the N rates of either N source as the subplot. Results of the study showed no significant impact of tillage treatments on plant biomass and corn yield. Increasing soil N application increased corn yield and corn stalk NO3-N concentrations for both N sources. At N rates higher than 100 kg N ha−1, corn showed a luxury consumption of N for both N sources. Soil temperature in the ST treatment compared favorably with CP, but showed an overall advantage over NT, which consistently recorded lower soil temperatures and ERI. Soil moisture storage for all tillage treatments at the top 30 cm and 0 to 120 cm were not significantly different for both N sources. Soil water extraction by corn roots did not show significant differences for all tillage treatments and both N sources. Soil penetration resistance measurements for tillage treatments did not show significant differences but increased with soil depth especially in the top 20-cm soil depth and late in the growing season for both N sources

Long-term Tillage and Crop Rotation Effect on Yield and Soil Carbon

Tillage systems and crop rotation have a significant, long-term effect on soil productivity and the soil quality components of soil carbon and other soil physical, biological, and chemical properties. Additionally, soil tillage and crop rotation control weed and soilborne diseases. There is need for a well-defined, long-term tillage and crop rotation study across the different soils and climate conditions in the state. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term effects of different tillage systems and crop rotation on soil productivity and quality

Long-term Tillage and Crop Rotation Effects on Soil Carbon and Soil Productivity

Tillage and crop rotation systems have major long-term effects on soil productivity and soil quality, soil carbon, and other soil physical, biological, and chemical properties. Additionally, tillage systems and crop rotation controls weed and soilborne diseases. There is a need for a well-defined, long-term tillage and crop rotation study across the different soil types and climate conditions in the state. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term effects of different tillage systems and crop rotations on soil quality and corn and soybean yields

Effect of Tillage and Nitrogen Rate on Corn Response in a Corn-Soybean Rotation

Soil tillage has significant impact on soil, water, and nutrient extraction by crop plants. In the short-term, tillage can improve soil aeration, the mineralization of organic matter, and availability of N and P in the soil system. However, long-term no-tillage systems enhance greater mineralizable C and N pools in the soil system contrary to conventional tillage systems. Thus, the uptake of N by crop plants is potentially changed with different tillage systems and their interactions with different N rates and N application timing. An understanding of the effect of different tillage systems and their interactions with N rate on the availability of N and P uptake by crop plants at different growth stages is essential to the efficient management of N and P in crop production system. The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of three tillage systems(no-tillage, NT;strip-tillage, ST; chisel plow, CP) and four N rates of two sources of N on corn responses and N and P use efficiencies

Conservation systems: Benefits in managing drought and mitigating yield loss by improving soil quality

Soil conservation is essential to sustain soil quality and improve crop productivity. Soil quality indicators include improved water infiltration and storage, and adequate levels of available soil nutrients for plants and soil carbon. Droughts result from a deficiency of precipitation from statistically normal amounts that when extended makes precipitation inadequate to meet the demands for crop production. Therefore, agriculture is the first economic sector that is visibly impacted by drought because of lack of soil moisture, which affects soil nutrient cycling and crop productivity