Manure management for improved pastures
Following the guidelines given above for controlling fly and worm problems will help to avoid the negative impacts of manure on pastures.
For improved pastures also:
- Lime the pastures when pH falls below 5.5. This will stimulate the soil bacteria and actinomycetes that assist in the breakdown of manure.
- Apply composted manure during the pasture growing season, but not during periods of heavy rain and not in areas prone to storm water run-off or flooding.
- Spread manure and compost in the mornings when warming and rising air will dilute odours.
- Rotationally graze the pasture.
Horses can be rotated with other livestock.
Sheep and cattle will graze areas rejected by horses and ingest and kill worm eggs and larvae that affect horses. Sheep and cattle will also even out the fertility of a paddock by depositing manure more evenly.
Free-range poultry can be used on small holdings to spread manure.
Management of beneficial beetles and worms
Establishing dung beetles on the property is another way to reduce the problems associated with manure build up on pasture.
Dung beetles quickly break up and bury manure pats, causing them to dry out. This restricts the development of fly and intestinal worm larvae, allows more rapid recycling of nutrients from the manure to the pasture and decreases the occurrence of ‘sick’ pasture.
Dung beetles may become established naturally in areas of high rainfall or where pastures are irrigated. If dung beetles are not already established they can be obtained from people on properties where they already exist.
Worm drenches can kill non-target species such as dung beetles and earthworms when leached out of manure.
Minimise the use of worming drenches between November and February in the south-west when dung beetles are active, and only drench those stock that essentially need it.
Ask your supplier to help you choose drenches that have particularly low detrimental effects on the environment. Carefully follow the manufacturer’s instruction to minimise the effect on the environment and wastage of the chemical.
Managing manure more effectively saves money and time otherwise spent on maintaining pasture cover and reducing weeds.
Properly managed manure can benefit pastures by returning nitrogen and phosphorus to the soil and improving the physical and chemical properties of the soil through additional organic matter.
Manure improves soil structure, increases the water and nutrient holding ability of the soil and boosts the soil’s resistance to compaction and crusting. However, when spreading manure on paddocks, always follow the guidelines above to minimise parasite breeding.
Preventing contamination of water bodies
It is important to prevent pollution by run-off or leaching of manure into waterbodies. Fence off the watercourses and waterbodies on your property to prevent livestock directly depositing manure in or around them.
Other ways to avoid water pollution through good manure management include:
- yards, stables and manure storage areas should be located away from waterlogged soil and at least 50m away from natural drainage lines and waterbodies. They should be constructed to prevent surface run-off flowing through them
- the floors of yards and stables should contain sand or sawdust overlying compact soil or limestone
- use gutters, downpipes and drains to divert rainwater away from stables, manure composting areas and wastewater storage ponds (an application to the Department of Health is required for the installation of a wastewater storage pond)
- when conditions are dry manure can be applied up to 10m from a waterbody, however, if rain is expected or the soil is wet this distance should be increased to 100m.
Vegetation buffers along the banks of drainage lines and waterbodies are an important means of filtering and removing nutrients from run-off before they enter a waterbody. A simple grassed filter strip of 3m wide can reduce phosphorus run-off to waterways by 90%.
Vegetation buffers should be established down-slope from where horses and other livestock are kept.
Open drains and waterbodies on the property should have well established buffer zones of vegetation. If these are not already in place a revegetation program could be established.
Contact your local government authourity or the Water Corporation for permission if open drains are to be revegetated.
(Note: Guidelines on widths of buffer zones may vary between shires and environmental agencies.)
Manure management outside your property
This applies particularly to horses. When riding your horse in areas outside your property, it is important to prevent the spread of weeds, via manure, into bushland.
Stay on well maintained and located bridal paths, collect as much of the manure as possible and feed the horse processed food rather than hay overnight.
Manure management on small properties is vital to prevent degredation of your small property.