One popular
application system is called an umbilical
cord or dragline system. Soil compaction and road travel
is minimized by pumping the manure resources through a
pipeline to a hose attached to a toolbar applicator for
injection or incorporation.
Manure that is considered solid is spread using a wagon that
applies the manure to the land while the wagon is pulled
through a field. This was a common application method prior
to the development of newer technologies.
 
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Why do
producers use liquid manure systems?
Liquid manure systems continue to be the dominant method for
storage of manure on U.S. pig farms. These systems hold the
manure until there is a suitable opportunity to use the
manure as fertilizer for crops according to state and
federal guidelines.
Animal manure is about 90 percent water when excreted. As
such, it usually makes sense to handle this manure as a
liquid rather than removing water. The high-water content
allows manure to be collected and transported easily. Also,
removing water from manure is expensive and usually is not
justified for manure that is going to be put on crop fields.
Handling manure as a liquid often reduces the time and labor
needed to transport manure and apply it on crop fields.
Liquid manure can be injected below the soil surface so that
nutrients are conserved and become more available to crops.
The potential loss of nutrients to water or air also is
reduced.
Lagoons and some slurry systems allow manure to move by
gravity. Manure collection and transport can be accomplished
with flush alleys, gravity-drained collection basins and
sewer lines. This is similar in many ways to how human
wastewater is collected and transported for treatment. |
