Remove Fertilizer Remove Manure Remove Yield
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Do You Need Starter Fertilizer with Organic Nitrogen?

Cropaia

Organic fertilizers such as manure, compost , and other organic amendments are valuable sources of nitrogen. However, unlike synthetic fertilizers that provide readily available nitrogen, the nitrogen in organic fertilizers is released gradually through biological processes.

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The Dirt on Fertilizer

Modern Farmer

For plants to thrive, they require a magic formula: water plus sunlight plus air plus fertilizer. But fertilizers—substances that make soil more fertile—are essential to plant health because not all soils are equally nutritious. In short: Fertilizer is plant food. All plants need fertilization.

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Practicing Resurrection: Using Green Manures on a Small Semi-Urban Homestead

ATTRA

I rely on these crops, idealistically to bolster hope, and practically to provide most if not all the fertility my garden crops need to live fully and produce quality fruits. What’s more, it comes on strong in the early spring yielding loads of plant biomass and unparalleled nutrition for summer crops. This year was weird.

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These Manure Digesters Incorporate Food Scraps. Does That Make Them Better?

Civil Eats

The waste grease, collected from a local pizzeria, a Mexican restaurant, and a pub, will be mixed with manure in the dairy farm’s anerobic co-digester and converted into renewable energy. Methane gas digesters are used by dairy farms to convert manure into energy and reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Photo by Meg Wilcox.

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Across Farm Country, Fertilizer Pollution Impacts Not Just Health, but Water Costs, Too

Civil Eats

This “leaky system” refers to what is not absorbed by the crops on the field, most dangerously, in this case, fertilizer. “It’s And farmers know they’re going to lose some fertilizer. Fertilizer as Poison The U.S. Fertilizer as Poison The U.S. As a consequence, they apply extra as insurance.”

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Will I Really Benefit from Grazing My Cover Crop?

UnderstandingAg

If done right, it should always be building fertility, not extracting it. Nutrient removal is a function of not only nutrient concentration but also forage yield. The table below illustrates the nutrient content of manure (urine and feces) from a finishing animal (I didn’t find applicable information for a lactating beef cow/calf).

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Managing Dairy Slurry to Maximize Nutrient Capture

UnderstandingAg

Manure slurry is a valuable but difficult resource to manage on dairy farms. Slurry pits must be emptied to make room for the never-ending stream of manure. Manure is often not a top priority for most dairies and handling may have to wait until seasonal fieldwork is completed. This causes the soil microbiology to go dormant.

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