Tag Archives: best practices

Composting Horse Manure

Posted on by

Uncontrolled stockpiles of horse manure can be an unsightly, smelly and fly-infested mess. Stockpiles also can cause runoff pollution in nearby streams and ponds. For horse enthusiasts, veterinarians and operators of boarding stables, handling and disposing of horse manure can pose numerous challenges. Frequently, operators of equine facilities and large-animal veterinary clinics must pay someone to take the manure off the property. However, there is an excellent way to stimulate demand for a product that would otherwise be a liability. Composting manure can eliminate a messy problem and… Read More →

Composting Large Animal Carcasses

Posted on by

Livestock producers and large-animal veterinarians face a growing problem in rural Texas—what to do with dead animals. Rendering services are getting more expensive and harder to come by, and just leaving carcasses to predators and the forces of nature is not acceptable. So what are the options? Except for poultry, you can bury dead animals as long as you do not pollute ground or surface water. Incineration, biodigestion and chemical digestion are other disposal methods, but they are expensive, complicated or both. Composting is a simple, low-cost disposal… Read More →

Calibration of Poultry Litter Applicators

Posted on by

Poultry litter has been used for many years in Texas as an alternative to commercial fertilizer. The poultry litter not only has the N (nitrogen), P (phosphorus), K (potassium) benefits, but it adds organic matter and all other essential nutrients to the soil. Proper precautions must be taken in order to prevent contamination of groundwater and runoff, while regulating soil P and N levels.