Manure Bartering: Linking Farmers
Without Manure to Those With Too Much

Kevin A. Erb
Nutrient and Pest Management Specialist, UW-Extension

Background

Two distinct trends in the dairy industry have emerged in Northeastern Wisconsin over the past five years: Existing dairy farmers expanding their herds at a greater rate than their land holdings, and younger dairy producers renting just a few acres of land and buildings for moderate to large size herds. This last trend is created by the demand for cash crop acres/expanding livestock operations and a drop in the total number of dairies. (Due to the urbanizing influence, many estates sell the farmland separate from the house and barns.)

Both of these trends have led to the same manure disposal problem: Not enough land to handle the nutrients in the manure. While technological advances (manure separators, composting pads) are an option, the best solution seems to be to find neighboring farmers willing to take, purchase, or trade for the manure.

In September of 1992, the Water Quality Demonstration Project-East River (WQDP-ER) started a manure bartering program. The main goal of the program was to get manure applied on rented acres that rarely, if ever, saw manure. This was evidenced by the declining soil test phosphorus and potassium levels noted in fields as the distance from the barn increased.

The Manure Store: Buy, Sell or Trade:

The program was kicked off in September, 1992 with a front page article in the WQDP-ER newsletter, The Water Spot. Since most farmers were not fully aware of manure's value at the time the program started, we took a lighthearted approach, creating three sub-categories of exchanges: The dutch treat barter, The in-kind exchange, and outright purchase.

In a dutch-treat barter, Farmer Jones and Farmer Smith farm about 2 miles apart. Each has rented land across the road from the other's mailbox. Since most small farms don t have the labor to haul manure very far, these fields rarely get manure. Here, we encouraged Smith and Jones to haul an equal number of loads of manure onto the other's field. This saves each time, fuel, and wear and tear on equipment.

In-kind barters involve exchanging the manure for something of value--such as crops, forages, labor time, use of tractors and equipment, etc. The value of the exchange is based on the nutrient value of the manure and hauling costs.

Outright purchases of manure are straightforward--Farmer Smith buys so many tons of manure at a set price. We warned farmers that it would not make them rich, but it did have it's advantages.

In addition to the article describing the process, we also wrote several press releases for local media, made it a topic of our radio interviews, and promoted the concept with the for-hire custom manure applicator industry. The same newsletter also contained a two-page fact sheet detailing how to determine manure hauling costs and a quick-reference chart for two common manure spreader sizes.

A written agreement is essential in any type of manure exchange or barter. We strongly encouraged a written agreement, and provided a generic, fill in the blank agreement to farmers that asked. This agreement spelled out who was responsible for agitation, application, incorporation, spill cleanup (including mud tracked onto the road), conditions under which no spreading was to be done (wet fields) and application rate.

Hands-On vs Hands-Off Approach

When the program first started, the WQDP-ER offered to maintain a list of farmers wanting manure and a list of those willing to receive it. Our list grew to more than 20 names--only 2 of which were within 3 miles of each other (the cash grain areas north of Green Bay wanted the manure, while the dairy farmers willing to participate all lived several miles south of Green Bay). Due to farmer concerns about being labeled as a potential polluter (having too much manure), we did not make the list public.

While the much-promoted manure bartering program had few takers, word began trickling in from the country that farmers were beginning to set up their own exchanges. As we heard, we began visiting these farms and preparing case studies.

The first case study was a dutch-treat between a son-in-law and father-in-law whose farms were 2.3 miles apart. After meeting each other on the road pulling full and empty tankers, they stopped, compared notes, and began hauling onto each other's fields. In the end, 160 loads were exchanged, saving 64 hours of labor and eliminating 700 miles of highway wear on their equipment. Total savings between the farms exceeded $1,000.

The second case study involved one dairy producer and two veal farms. Both veal operations are 1-2 buildings plus a manure pit on less than 12 acres. In this situation, the dairy producer spread the veal manure on her own land in exchange for the hay on the veal producer's land (the high ammonia content of veal manure hinders topdressing onto alfalfa). The result was not in dollars, but in higher quality hay (and reduced soil nutrient buildup) for the veal producers and free manure nutrients for the dairywoman.

Case study #3 was a large operation (600+ head) under the leadership of a farmer who was resented by the neighboring farmers for his success. Assuming he could rent land in the neighborhood, he expanded the dairy to it's present size. When land could not be found within a few miles, he began looking farther away. Several farms are now taking this manure, but the producer is hauling it by semi-tanker up to 13 miles one-way. The economics show that the dairyman is loosing over $1,000/year, but he has little choice, as no land is available nearby. He has contracted with several hobby farmers (those with a house on 20 acres), and is now selling them the manure at $5 per 1000 gallons, delivery and application included.

By the end of the WQDP-ER, 22 exchanges were documented in the county, and 14 more in two neighboring counties. Of these, only two had been facilitated by the agency--the remainder were created entirely by the farmers themselves. The hands-off approach (giving farmers the tools they need and the idea) has been much more successful than a top down approach.

Summary

A manure-bartering program can be a very effective way to deal with producers who have too much manure for their land base. Such a program, however, must be sensitive to the feelings of the producer and the local community.

The hands-off approach (giving farmers the information they need to set up the exchange) has been much more effective than the agency acting as the broker. Farmers are requesting sample contracts and help in determining exchange values, but prefer to handle the initial contacts on their own. This is due to the negative impression in farmer's minds about being on someone's list of farmers with too much manure.

To Top