Tillage, Manure, and Winter Runoff

Abstract

Wintertime land-applications of manure are a common practice because of the high cost of manure storage (Srinivasan et al., 2006). However, the presence of frozen soil and snow creates challenges for on-farm nutrient retention, as up to 75% of annual runoff can occur during thaws (Good et al., 2012). Therefore, we 1) tested practical management techniques that may reduce runoff on fields receiving winter applications of liquid dairy manure, and 2) used a soil physics approach to identify weather and soil properties that control infiltration, runoff, and nutrient losses during thaws