|
"Direct application of manure on
cropland is a common way of using livestock manure in the United
States," Funk said. "In many states, new regulations require farmers
to be more accurately accountable for the amount of fertilizer that
is being applied to fields.
"A host of developments has made it
possible to apply correct amounts of nutrients on fields with good
accuracy. However, there is very little technology available for
regulating the rate of manure application to fields."
Funk's research was funded by the
Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research's five-year, $6
million project on swine odor and waste management. Funk and other
researchers involved in the C-FAR project will present their
findings Dec. 11-12 at the University of Illinois Pork Industry
Conference in Champaign. Those interested in learning more about or
attending the conference should call Gilbert Hollis at (217)
333-0012 or send e-mail to
hollisg@mail.aces.uiuc.edu.
Funk built and tested a prototype
variable-rate manure spreader that is vacuum-loaded. Manure
spreaders now in use lack the control systems that control the flow
rate of the manure.
[to top of second column in
this article] |
"The type of system we developed makes
it possible for the operator to more accurately implement a nutrient
management plan," he said.
"An informal survey of swine producers
performed as part of the project showed that a substantial
proportion of farmers use the kind of slurry spreader tested in this
research -- but without the control -- and that many would be
interested in a reliable variable-rate system if it were available,
practical and economical."
Funk said field tests with the
variable-flow technology applied to spreaders have greatly improved
the reliability of the hardware and have helped identify ways to
reduce the number of components in the system, thereby reducing
potential breakdowns.
"We will
conduct further tests this fall in order to produce a more complete
set of recommendations for producers who wish to implement the
variable-rate technology," Funk said.
[University of Illinois news release]
 |
