Black Gold: Using manure to your advantage

Did you know the average horse creates about 50 pounds of manure every day? That’s more than 8 tons a year! If you keep several horses, that’s a lot of manure to sling around.

Manure management is crucial on a ranch. If not properly maintained, manure piles can spread disease, foster parasites, and cause ecological damage. On the other hand, manure from horses, cattle, goats, and even rabbits can be worth its weight in gold if utilized effectively. Composting, spreading, and harrowing manure are all effective ways to use animal waste to your benefit.

Composting

Many people compost their manure because it makes a great fertilizer, and if care is taken, can be used as top soil. The secret to composting is getting the right carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. Most experts recommend a 30:1 carbon-to-nitrogen ratio with good moisture. A four- to six-foot deep pile of horse manure should reach 120 degrees in just a few days, allowing efficient decomposition to take place and encouraging desirable microbes to grow. Aeration is also crucial. Turning the pile allows oxygen to accelerate the process and maintain the right temperature. If the piles get too hot, the “good” microbes can get killed off. We found a terrific article on the Farm & Ranch Guide website about the art & science of composting. MyHorse.com has published an eight-step guide to composting manure that includes optimal bin sizes and how to monitor the progress of your fertilizer-to-be. The compost can eventually be used in flower beds and vegetable gardens.

O2Compost  makes a composter for small ranches that handles the manure of six horses.

Spreading

Eight tons of manure is a lot to deal with, so many people decide to spread their manure piles across pastureland. Small manure spreaders are available that can be pulled behind an ATV, truck, or tractor. Simply shovel your manure pile into the spreader, hitch it to your vehicle, and pull it into your pasture gate. Turn the handle that engages the gears and take a drive through the field. As the gears turn, the spreader breaks up clumps of manure and distributes it evenly across the ground. Check out Robby’s video of his antique John Deere manure spreader in the video below!

Harrowing

A harrow is a piece of equipment that is used to break up manure that is already in the pasture. It is dragged behind a tractor, ATV, or pickup truck. Some harrows are simply a bar attached to a heavy metal mesh with long tines on one side. Large farms and ranches may have a heavier-duty harrow that comes as a tractor attachment, with tines that extend downward from a metal frame. Harrows may be purchased from farm equipment suppliers, but some people make their own using an old chainlink fence or a railroad tie.

Pastures should be harrowed at least twice a year. Breaking the manure into small pieces allows it to decompose faster, and makes the nutrients readily available to the soil, keeping pastures lush and green.

Give it away

Some small ranchers will have more manure than they feel they can use, but there are plenty of gardeners who would love to get it for their small plots. Post a sign at your local feed store, or contact a community garden group if you have extra to offer. You can also offer it via online bulletin boards like FreeCycle.org, which has bulletin boards for virtually every community in the United States.