Dane County Manure Study

The project goal was to investigate manure management alternatives to land application of raw manure. These alternatives considered single farm systems as well as clusters of farms. The major objective was to remove at least 50% of the phosphorus (P) from the land. The study began with a survey of the farmers in the Upper Mendota Watershed. The study examined the technical, logistical, financial, and environmental factors related to implementing alternative manure management approaches to accommodate the manure from two farm clusters. Alternatives were evaluated using monetary and nonmonetary factors, with sensitivity analyses for critical monetary factors. Because there are no community facilities in operation in the Midwest and nationally there are only a limited number of examples, issues such as permitting, potential ownership models, and funding alternatives needed to be considered as part of the feasibility study.