Economics of Dairy Manure Management in Iowa

Abstract

and Implications Dairy producers have many duties to carry out in their dairy operations, one of which is storing, handling and applying manure. Manure handling can be a significant cost on most dairies even when considering the value of the nutrients in the manure. Seldom do producers consider their costs of handling and applying manure on a per hundredweight (cwt) of milk sold basis like they do with many of their other costs.This project encompassed surveys of manure management systems and nutrient management practices on 22 Iowa Dairy Farms, including economic costs and returns. Key findings are that the cost of storing, hauling and applying manure averaged $306.13 per cow or $1.33 per / cwt. If we subtract the nutrient value of the manure applied (using book values and assuming perfect utilization) the net cost of storing, hauling and applying manure averaged $104.10 per cow or $$0.45 per / cwt. The tie stall barns had a cumulative cost per cwt. of $1.42; the mattress/waterbed barns had a cumulative cost per cwt. of $1.50; the 2 stage sand systems had a cumulative cost per cwt. of $0.97; the 1 stage sand systems had a cumulative cost per cwt. of $1.44; and the dried manure solid barns had a cumulative cost per cwt. of $1.24.

Manure management strategies are interconnected with complexity across U.S. dairy farms

“…Second, these results reaffirm the various tradeoffs in different MMS, including environmental, economic, and time/management tradeoffs [ 8 , 15 ]. For example, gutters are associated with manure spreaders, which are then highly associated with broadcast manure applications.…”

“…Manure management infrastructure can represent a significant investment, and costs can differ greatly based on MMS, region, and other production factors [ 15 , 35 ]. For example, data from dairy farms in Iowa suggest that the net cost to store and handle manure per cow ranges from $95.39 for two-stage sand systems to $161.56 for mattress/waterbed systems.…”

“…For example, data from dairy farms in Iowa suggest that the net cost to store and handle manure per cow ranges from $95.39 for two-stage sand systems to $161.56 for mattress/waterbed systems. All told, the total storage and handling costs per cow ranged from a low of $242.39 for solid systems to $349.50 for mattress/waterbed systems [ 15 ]. Furthermore, the costs of manure storage and handling are not uniform across regions; the USDA has estimated that annual manure and wastewater handling and storage costs per farm vary to be lowest in the Corn Belt and Lakes region, and highest (more than three times the cost) in the Mountain and Pacific regions [ 36 ].…”

“…For example, when nitrogen and phosphorus can be taken up by plants and not lost to the environment, which can minimize runoff and water pollution [ 14 ]. Furthermore, varying MMS have significantly different economic and labor costs, which also affect farmer decisions [ 15 ].…”

“…As dairy farmers consider these multiple tradeoffs, they employ a variety of strategies for manure handling, storage and application. Though it may appear that MMS can be easily categorized, there are multiple combinations of methods that can employ a variety of structures and equipment [ 15 ]. Broadly speaking, MMS can include three distinct components: 1) manure handling, the method of manure removal or management in animal housing or grazing areas; 2) manure storage, the infrastructure and method for holding manure until its application; and 3) manure application and manner in which manure is land applied, typically for crop fertilization [ 9 ].…”