Improving soil structure often reduces furrow erosion and maintains adequate infiltration. Cottage
cheese whey, the liquid byproduct from cottage cheese manufacture, was utilized to stabilize soil aggregates
and reduce sediment losses from furrow irrigation. We applied either 2.4 or 1.9 L of whey per meter
of furrow (3.15 or 2.49 L m?-2, respectively) by gravity flow without incorporation to two fields of Portneuf
silt loam (Durinodic Xeric Haplocalcid) near Kimberly, ID. Furrows were irrigated with water beginning
four days later. We measured sediment losses with furrow flumes during each irrigation and
measured aggregate stability by wet sieving about 10 days after the last irrigation. Overall, whey significantly
increased aggregate stability 25% at the 0–15 mm depth and 14% at 15–30 mm, compared to controls.
On average, whey reduced sediment losses by 75% from furrows sloped at 2.4%. Whey increased the
aggregate stability of structurally degraded calcareous soil in irrigation furrows
