In Florida, and especially areas closer to big cities, horse owners on small acreage are faced with the manure management dilemma of just what to do with all that manure.... Since I visit small farms all day long, I tend to ask owners how they control their horse waste and am sometimes am surprised by their ingenuity. A single 1,000 lb. horse generates around 50 lb. of manure per DAY (9 TONS a year), add to that bedding and shavings if you have them stall-kept and you can see the problem is large. Keeping stockpiled manure for any length of time only invites odors and flies AND you have to be careful not to have it contaminate the ground water. So, for you true horse lovers out there, grab a cup of coffee and take a stroll with me through the land of poop containment ;-)
Spread it: Spreading broken-up manure through the pastures can help remove the manure and enrich the soil, producing better pasture, but each acre of land can only accommodate a certain amount of manure before you have "too much of a good thing" and potentially burn the grass. Many people get creative with where they "sprinkle" their manure/bedding waste, I have seen it used as "mulch" around trees and even as the actual driveway!! Spreading manure on your pastures IS a great idea, but you have to be careful about how MUCH you use and how it affects your ground water. The University of MN has a great blog article here that can help you figure out the what, when and wheres to start your program. I have seen hars and drags used, but a proper manure spreader that attaches to your tractor is going to make sure the manure is broken up enough to do the work and not burn the grass. Above is one from Millcreek....
Roll-off Container: On especially small farms or ones where you still have a surplus even after spreading your manure, having a dumpster or roll-off service come to your farm, drop off a container and pick it back up when it is full can be very handy, but it is not inexpensive. A container might be a few hundred dollars per trip and that can really add up. For the really fancy farms, I have seen some VERY fancy dumpsters that look more like Cadillacs than old beaten up dumpsters which are manufactured solely for manure containment. You can see if your area offers such a service.
Ask neighboring farms and groves if they want it: Many Floridians have neighbors who farm groves and crops who might LOVE your manure. Ask your neighbors if they would like it and determine a mutual disposal site on their property that you can easily reach with your tractor. I see this often here and it is beneficial to both parties, they get free fertilizer and you dispose of your waste.
Compost it: Composting is really a great option and Washington State University has a great article on it here. Composting helps control all of the problems associated with manure such as flies and odors AND it can be financially beneficial, gardeners love composted horse manure and you can actually sell it. Googling horse manure composting will give you TONS of links to read up on how to both compost it and sell the end product (no pun intended). I have heard of fancy in-ground composters, if you want to visually reduce the sight of a manure pile or box.
Sell it: As mentioned above, both the uncomposted and composted manure can be sold or traded. Contact your extension office or farm bureau to see what sort of program your local area has. If you are near a main road, simply having a sign up might be advertisement enough, especially if you compost.
Burn it: Larger equestrian communities are actually looking at creating plants that burn the manure to produce steam which is then sold to the power companies. Both Wellington and Ocala are investigating these options very seriously right now. And for the truly green, daring and ingenious, you can burn it to heat your home!
Quarantine Waste: If your horse(s) have been quarantined due to illness or other reasons, make sure to dispose of it following the guidelines put forth by Florida Dept. of Agriculture.
One thing that will go a long way in reducing your manure management burden is simply reducing the amount of material that needs to be controlled. While a single horse creates 50+ lbs of manure a day, the bedding from stalls is normally the lion's share of the waste needing to be dealt with. Following the natural horse-keeping practice of pasturing your horses much more, rather than leaving them in stalls will drastically reduce the amount of waste due to reduced bedding. For the times you do stable them, consider pine pellets or some other more condense and easy to compost material rather than the old shaving solution and reduce your quantity of material by over 50%.
Janie Coffey
Owner/Broker, GRI, TRC, QSC
cell: 786-252-4970
email: janie@papillonllc.com
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