1. Poultry Litter as Fertilizer?
Brian C. Pugh
Area Agronomy Specialist

2. Poultry Litter • Manure (feces + Urine) and bedding material
- sawdust, wood shavings, rice hulls, etc.
• Excellent low cost fertilizer
• Returns soil nutrients and organic matter
• Builds soil fertility and quality
• Slowly releases nutrients
• Liming effect
Poultry litter consists of manure and bedding material
Excellent low cost fertilizer if used properly
Slowly releases nutrients which reduces the risk of nitrate leaching

3. Types of poultry litter
• Breeder: High moisture - med. - low nutrient
• Layer: High moisture – med. - low nutrient
• Pullet: Low moisture – med. - low nutrient
• Turkey: Low moisture – high nutrient
• Broiler: Low moisture – high nutrient
Too high of moisture content may require special handling/equipment. Unstable manure may heat up or produce flammable gases.
Wet manure adds weight and therefore adds cost to hauling.
However, too dry of a litter may be too dusty and abrasive to equipment.

4. Regulations

6. Oklahoma Land Application Regulations
• Must have a current soil and litter test
• Must be spread by a licensed litter applicator
• Must follow NRCS Waste Utilization Standards
• Poultry producers must also follow AWMP
• Contact OK Dept. of Ag. Food and Forestry for more info. (405)
Applicator required get soil test from buyer. Applicator to supply recent copy of litter analysis (within one year for nutrient limited watershed producers).
Applicator must also record legal description of fields applied to (section, township and range), where litter was produced, where litter was applied, and identify field. NRCS plan NOT currently required by buyer; however, applicator could be held liable since they have taken initial 9 education. Soil test P limits should be followed (300 in Eucha Watershed; 400 in the rest of the state).

7. Soil and Litter Testing (as required by state law)
Must obtain recent soil and litter tests:
- Once every year in Nutrient Limited Watersheds OR Nutrient Vulnerable Groundwater
- Once every 3 years otherwise

8. NRCS Waste Utilization Standards
I9 Chapter 3: Understanding the Nutrient Management Plan
NRCS Waste Utilization Standards

9. NRCS Waste Utilization Standards
Outside Nutrient Limited Watershed
Inside
Nutrient Limited Watershed
I9 Chapter 3: Understanding the Nutrient Management Plan
Full rate: 200 lbs P2O5 / acre

10. Full Rate – Not to exceed the Nitrogen requirement of the crop and the following P2O5 rates:
1.     200 lbs P2O5 per acre when surface applied.
2.     300 lbs P2O5 per acre when application is by sprinkler irrigation and managed to prevent runoff from field.
3.     400 lbs P2O5 per acre if injected below the soil surface or surface applied and incorporated within 7 days.
Half Rate – Not to exceed the Nitrogen requirement of the crop and the following P2O5 rates:
1.     100 lbs P2O5 per acre when surface applied.
2.     150 lbs P2O5 per acre when application is by sprinkler irrigation and managed to prevent runoff from field.
3.     200 lbs P2O5 per acre if injected below the soil surface or surface applied and incorporated within 7 days.
Split Application – Not to exceed the Nitrogen requirement of the crop

11. Poultry Litter vs. Commercial Fertilizer

12. Poultry Litter Nutrients (“not all nutrients created equal”)
• Not equal to commercial fertilizer nutrients
• Not all nutrients available to crop in 1st yr.
Poultry litter N availability
Year after application
Surface application
Soil Incorporation
1st year
50%
60%
2nd year
15%
3rd year 6%
Plant nutrients in commercial fertilizers are mostly water soluble and readily available for plant uptake. Not all nutrients in manure are available in first year cause some are in organic form while others can be lost during application.
Remaining N leftover is lost to denitrification, volatilization, leaching or remains tied up in organic matter. For E. OK soils, volatilization or remaining tied up in organic matter is most likely.

13. Litter to CF Yield Ratio (PL/CF)
Year
AVG
2007
0.85
0.88
1.09
1.02
0.96
2008
0.70
0.72
0.82
0.74
2009
0.77
0.63
0.71
0.81
0.73
0.84

14. 1.05 PL:CF
2012 Carryover
†Application timing; 1 yr = annual, 2 yr = every two years, 3 yr = every third year, OTA = One time application.
‡Nutrient rates are indicated as lbs nutrient applied/Acre in terms of N-P-K, with PL = poultry litter and CF = commercial fertilizer.

15. pH Sufficiency Range for Bermuda – 5.7 Ideal pH – 6.8
Litter tends to maintain or increase pH over time, CF acidifies soil over time.
Low rate
High rate
Low rate
High rate

16. Application Rate • Based on nutrient requirement of crop
• Excess P may cause water contamination
• Requires soil & litter tests and yield goal estimate
• Supplement with commercial fertilizer if needed
Application rates should be based on nutrient requirement of the crop. Too little nutrients will not provide sufficient crop nutrients and excess nutrients are a waste of resources resulting in soil P buildup which may cause contamination.
Develop a manure nutrient plan that consumes manure nutrients (avoid slopes, saturated soils, riparian zones, buffer strips)

17. I9 Chapter 3: Understanding the Nutrient Management Plan
Litter Analysis
We typically discuss litter nutrient content in lbs/ton instead of percentage (%).
Dry Basis or As Received?
Litter is normally spread at the moisture tested, so the “As Received” value is used.
Producers may ask, does wetter litter effect costs or quality?
Only if they are buying actual scale weight of litter vs buying a load volume.
I9 Chapter 3: Understanding the Nutrient Management Plan

18. I9 Chapter 3: Understanding the Nutrient Management Plan
Soil P Analysis
What app. Rate will the P Index allow?
0-250 = Full Rate (200 lbs P2O5)
= Half Rate (100 lbs P2O5)
Over 400 = No Application
As Received P2O5 from the litter analysis showed 67.8 lbs/ton
200 lbs (Full rate)/67.8 lbs per ton
2.95 tons Max Legal Rate!
This is if producers surface apply following NRCS standards
I9 Chapter 3: Understanding the Nutrient Management Plan

19. Soil N - Yield
Now determine application rate to meet N needs from yield goal.
As Received N from the litter analysis showed 66.3 lbs/ton
133 lbs N required/ 66.3 lbs per ton
2.0 tons for Optimum yield
This assumes 100% N available!
Let’s estimate 70% N in 1st year
2 tons/ 0.7 = 2.86 tons/Acre
Does our N based recommendation exceed the Max Legal Rate?
Apply tons/A for optimum yield.
*Do not exceed 2.95 tons/Acre, the maximum legal rate.

20. Value

21. What is the Value of Litter?
Littermarket.okstate.edu
Select “Litter Calculator” from the tabs at top

22. What is the Value of Litter?

23. What is the Value of Litter?
Littermarket.okstate.edu
On the bottom of the homepage is updated commercial fertilizer prices for NE OK.

24. What is the Value of Litter?
340
$15.52
$17.41
400
$14.17
340
$47.10 60
Nutrient only has value if deficient in the soil! 60 50

25. Using Poultry Litter
Poultry litter is a good alternative to commercial fertilizer if available.
A producer must consider:
Value of nutrients needed for his operation
Cost of transportation and spreading vs. value of nutrients
Meeting state regulations

26. Questions?