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The land base requirement
is an estimate of the number of acres needed to fully utilize the
nutrients produced in manure over the crop rotation. Most manure,
if applied according to crop needs for nitrogen (N), will oversupply
crop needs for phosphorus (P2O5). By using the worksheet and tables
below, you will be able to estimate the number of acres you need
to fully utilize the phosphorus in manure when applied to alfalfa
crops.
NOTE: Land base requirements
are based on crop yield and can be refined by accounting for nutrient
transformations such as mineralization, or for composting or offsite
transport. The worksheet below is based on manure production estimates
for various livestock types and mineralization rates for phosphorus
with no composting or offsite transport. Use the information in
the worksheet table for general planning purposes. For further
information on how composting or offsite transport may influence
land base requirements contact NRCS or Utah State University Extension.
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You will need
the following information:
Alfalfa yield
(in tons / acre) of your land:
Obtain this
through your records, or by contacting your local Cooperative
Extension agent or NRCS office. Use the average yields obtained,
not top yield.
Type and numbers
of animals in your operation
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Use the following
worksheet to estimate the land base requirement for manure produced.
Excel
(*Note- Excel spreadsheets
are programed to do calculations for you. On some computers you
can do calculations directly on your computer. On others you must
save Excel files to your computer or disk before using the spreadsheets.
)
Directions for Land
Base Estimate Worksheet:
1. In Column 1, enter
your livestock types (i.e. beef cow, swine, etc).
2. In Column 2, enter
the number of animals you own for each type..
3. In Column 6 enter
the number obtained from the table at the top of the worksheet
file for each livestock type.
4. The worksheet will
automatically calculate the total number of acres needed.
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