CSU And NRCS Host Do-it-yourself Manure Management Workshops

Fifty-three producers and 69,410 cattle served.

We held a series of seven workshops throughout Colorado during the winter of 1998-1999. The purpose of the workshops was to provide beef and dairy producers with the information and tools necessary to develop Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans (CNMPs). The new EPA/USDA Joint Strategy outlines an expectation that all animal feeding operations (regardless of size) will have CNMPs by 2008. Large livestock producers often hire crop consultants or engineers to develop CNMPs, but the smaller producers can not afford this luxury. Therefore, we aimed these workshops at the smaller producers (<1000 head) and called them, “Do-it-Yourself Manure Management Workshops.”

The “Do-it-Yourself Manure Management Workshops” were a joint effort between Colorado State University Cooperative Extension and the local Natural Resources Conservation Service. Part of our goal was to illustrate for producers what resources are available in their own counties for support in CNMP development. We provided empty notebooks with dividers in them for each essential part of a CNMP, so that producers could fill their own plans in as they worked through the day and continue the CNMP development in the months thereafter.

We developed worksheets for producers to fill out for their own operations which they could then insert into the appropriate sections. It was our goal to make this process as simple as possible. The local NRCS offices were especially helpful in providing access to soil surveys and soil map information. Our intention was that producers would work on developing CNMPs specific to their operations during the workshops and would leave knowing what else they needed to do to complete their CNMP.

Impact
There were fifty-three livestock operations feeding 69,410 head represented at the workshops. In addition, seventeen field staff for NRCS and ten extension agents were also in attendance. Our goal was to help small producers (animal feeding operations with less than 1000 head), and 69% of the producers in attendance did fit this category (Table 1). Although there were substantial numbers of larger cattlefeeders and dairymen, most of them had between 1000 and 2000 head. One hog producer attended.

Table 1.  Size of Livestock operations in attendance.

Number of Head	Percent of participating Operations
1-100	16
101-500	29
501-999	24
1000-2000	18
2001-5000	6
5001-10,000	6
>10,000	2

Seventy-two percent of the participants felt that the workshop impacted their operation and that they are now able to complete their CNMP. Two participants said they knew what to do but they didn’t have time, and two participants had specific questions they needed answered before they could complete their CNMPs. When asked what changes they will make based on the workshops, only 4% said that no change was needed (Table 2). The changes mentioned most often included keeping better records, applying manure at agronomic rates, doing a better job of runoff handling, and testing manure and soil samples. These workshops were successful in helping small beef and dairy producers develop CNMPs. We plan to continue them in winter 1999-2000.

Table 2.  Planned changes by participants based on the workshops.
(What changes will you make based on this workshop?)

Change in Manure Management	Percent of Participating Operations
Better Recordkeeping	33
Manure Utilization at Agronomic Rates	18
Awareness	12
Runoff Collection and Storage	10
Analysis of Soil and Manure Samples	10
Manure Management	4
No Change Needed	4

Acknowledgments
These workshops would not have been possible without the Cooperative Extension and Natural Resources Conservation Service field staff who lined up the facilities, delivered the audience, and helped with the soil surveys. We specifically want to thank Jerry Alldredge, Robbie Baird-LeValley, Bruce Bosley, Randy Buhler, Gary Campfield, David Colburn, Wayne Cooley, Marlin Eisenach, Jan Fritch, Brad Gillmore, Cindy Gillmore, Dawn Jackson, Keith Maxey, Ron Meyer, Frank Riggle, C.W. Scott, and Charles Starkovich. These workshops were funded by the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, and lunch was covered by local livestock associations.

by Jessica Davis, Holly Horner, and Kirk Iversen
Extension Soil Specialist, Soil and Crop Sciences, CSU;
Area Agronomist, Natural Resources Conservation Service (Greeley);
Former Research Associate, Soil and Crop Sciences, CSU