A to Z Feeders

1. A to Z Feeders Kelli Bormann, Mark Lane, and Jim Skartvedt

2. A to Z Feeders • Located west of Atlantic, Iowa in Cass County • Owned by the Alan Zellmer family • Environmentally friendly producer • Currently wants to expand feedlot

3. Current Practices and Strategies • A to Z Feeders has teamed up with Yama Beef, Inc. • Produce high marbling Waygu cattle • Angus cows x Waygu bulls • Waygu meat is marketed to niche markets for high premiums because of its taste and high quality

4. Current Practices and Strategies • Currently A to Z feeders has 1700 head capacity • No manure management plan • Test soil in every field they apply manure • Apply manure on crop ground based on a “get rid of it strategy” (not N or P basis) • Scrape and clean yards twice a year • Test every 10th load of manure which leaves the feedlot

5. Current Practices and Strategies • Manure utilization • 600 acres corn • 400 acres soybeans • Corn/soybean rotation • 160 acres brome hay • Low Phosphorus Acres • 300 low soil P acres recently purchased • Average Slope: 7%

6. Current Soil Situation • Soil test performed on every field utilized for crop growth and manure application • Iowa State University Soil Testing Lab • Total Farm average 154 ppm P • Bray-1 analysis • Every field tested over 100 ppm • 31 ppm P and over are classified as “very high” soil P concentration (Van Horn et al., 1996)

7. Current Manure Situation • Manure samples collected from every 10th load leaving the feedlot • Manure tested from individual pens within the feedlot

8. Diet and Feeding • Diet plays a large role in the amount of P excreted • Depends on amount of P offered and digestibility of the diet • Current Diet • 13 lbs corn, 9 lbs hay, 14 lbs corn silage, 14 lbs wheat SBM • Proposed Diet • Supplement more hay and corn for less corn silage • Reduced corn silage which is high in P will reduce the acres needed to spread manure

9. Diet and Feeding

10. Phosphorus and the EnvironmentWhy do we care? • Agriculture plays a very large role in the total usage of Phosphates • Phosphorus is a nutrient which can be lost in runoff from farm fields or leach through the soil profile (Andraski et al., 2003) National History Museum, 2002

11. Phosphorus and the Environment • Phosphorus can dissolve in water, attach to manure particles which will move with runoff and leave the field (Van Horn et al., 2003) • Typically P only leaves the soil with sediment, however, is soil has an overabundance of P then P can leach through the soil profile (Maguire and Sims, 2002)

12. Phosphorus and the Environment • Phosphorus saturation of the soil can lead to increased P in surrounding waterways • Increased P can cause eutrophication (Klatt et al., 2002) • Typically P is limiting for algae growth, however, if increasing amounts of P reaches waterways with sediment runoff, then algae growth increase

13. Phosphorus and the Environment • Eutrophication • Increased aquatic plant growth • Oxygen depletion (may lead to fish kills) • pH variability • Plant species quality • Food chain effects

14. Phosphorus and the Environment • 40% of Iowa’s waterways are on the impaired list because of an overabundance of nutrients entering the waterway (IDNR, 2002) • Concern over non point source P losses (agricultural losses) has increased • Phosphorus in runoff needs to be limited in order to prevent further deterioration of Iowa’s waterways

15. Phosphorus Indices • Assessment tool to rank a sites vulnerability to P loss • Identify and prioritize P management options • Areas near waterways or with greater slope would be considered high risk • May cause producers to have to look to outside outlets for manure

16. Fertilization based on Crop Needs • In order to prevent over fertilization of crop fields and pastures, fertilizer application must match crop nutrient uptake • In Iowa a typical corn field requires 1.2 lbs of N and 26.4 lbs of P per bushel (Mid West Plan Service, 1993) • In the past fertilization has taken place based on the N needs rather than the P needs of a crop, leading to a gross over-application of P • Manure needs to be spread matching the most limiting nutrient

17. Regulations • EPA has designed regulations for CAFO’s or Confined Animal Feeding Operations • Implement a nutrient management plan • Submit annual report to permitting authority • Keep permit current until the operation is completely closed and all manure is removed • Keep records of nutrient management practices for at least 5 years

18. Nutrient Management Plans • Benefits of Utilizing a Nutrient Management Plan • Assure adequate manure storage capacity • Proper handling of dead animals and chemicals • Divert clean water from production areas • Keep animals out of surface waters • Use site specific conservation practices • Develop ways to test manure and soil • Assure appropriate use of nutrients when spreading manure • Keep records of nutrient management practices

19. Production Areas • Production areas should be designed to contain all manure plus the runoff from a 25 year 24 hour storm event • Install depth markers in liquid manure storage structures • Inspect production areas weekly and all water lines daily • Properly handle dead animals

20. Land Application of Manure • Apply manure at rates meeting the permitted authorities standards • Analyze manure for nutrients at least once a year • Analyze soil from land application fields for P every 5 years • Avoid over-application of manure to land within 100 feet of surface water

21. Alternative Uses for Manure • If the total manure and nutrients produced on farm exceed the amount needed by crop ground, the off farm outlets are needed for the excess nutrients • Storage, collecting and hauling costs associated with manure make off farm outlets less appealing

22. Alternative Uses for Manure • Composting • Aerobic decomposition of manure and other organic material at high temperatures • Waste and organic matter are allowed to decay in a pile with some agitation • Resulting product is odorless, low moisture, fine textured and can be used in bulk as fertilizer or bagged and sold for uses in nurseries and garden uses

23. Alternative Uses for Manure • Pelletizing • Manure is compacted at high temperatures and pressures and the compressed in a die to form a pellet • Also known as extrusion, converts fresh manure to a dry, pathogen free, easy to handle, finished product that can be used as fertilizer, soil amendment, feed additives, or energy fuel

24. Alternative Uses for Manure • Bedding/Litter • Building Material • Flowerpot Ornaments • Mushroom Cultivation • Nursery Pots • Soil Reclamation

25. Clean water diversion Runoff flow Working & Loading Facilities 160 160 80 80 Commodities Building (cement) Current Facility Setup – 1,700 head Runoff flow • 100 100 100 100 160 • Head of cattle per pen 160 160 160 Composting Piles (on dirt)

26. Proposed Expansion • Feedlot wants to be permitted to 3,000 head • Needs manure management plan • Lacks land available for manure application (↑ P)

27. Working & Loading Facilities Clean water diversion Converted to Holding Pens Commodities Building 160 160 160 160 • 100 100 100 100 160 • Head of cattle per pen 590 ft 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 Settling basin 28 ft Gated Pipe 725 ft 95 Acres of brome grass filter strip 28 ft

28. Grass Filter Strip Recommendation • More eye appealing land • Passive Treatment System • Controls odor better than the lagoon option • Dual purpose crop • Filtration of contaminants • Production of grass hay

29. Recommendations for Future • Utilization of manure only at the new, low P 300 acre farm • Continued harvesting of silage at high P farms • Addition of manure management plan with expansion of feedlot • Applying manure on a plant need only basis • Research composting feasibility with profitability

30. Recommendations for Future • Look at alternative methods for manure removal or marketing • Discuss marketing compost to golf courses in the Omaha area • Research the cost effectiveness of selling bagged composts products