These instructions for manure sampling were formulated within the project Manure Standards (Advanced manure Standards for sustainable nutrient management and reduced emissions, Interreg Project No #R057) with the aim of harmonising sampling methods used within the Baltic Sea Region. The instructions are based on output from a previous project, Baltic Manure (Sindhöj et al., 2013), literature from within and outside the EU and feedback from tests of a first version on around 100 farms representing all nine countries bordering the Baltic Sea. These instructions have been circulated to project partners (see list in Appendix 2) and associate partners, including universities, research organisations, advisory services and other stakeholders in the Manure Standards project.
A central factor during the work was to assess the impact on the analysis results of sampling factors such as number of samples (or subsamples), sampling depth, handling of samples, time period between sampling and analysis etc.
Note that some countries, or even food companies, may have more rigid regulations on how sampling should be carried out (e.g. number of subsamples needed). In such cases, those special instructions should of course be followed in the first instance
