Manure Application Rules and Environmental Considerations

Three manure application limits (N Limit, Annual P Limit and P Banking) were modeled with particular attention to the number of hours needed to appropriately distribute manure. The benefit and costs estimates indicated that P Banking was more profitable than N Limit which was more profitable than Annual P Limit. The number of hours required indicated that the Annual P Limit would not be completed within a two month window approximately 2 of 10 years. The increased number of hours for the Annual P Limit also increased the probability of a runoff event following manure application, relative to the other two scenarios. This work indicates that regulations that require Annual P Limits of manure cost the farmer and may have the unintended consequence of increasing runoff.