Mud & Manure Management

Using Sacrifice Areas to Protect Pastures - This publication addresses the proper design, placement, construction, and cost-share options for sacrifice areas to protect pastures. 

Managing Small-acreage Horse Farms for Green Pastures, Clean Water, and Healthy Horses - This publication, tailored for small acreage, discusses basic management strategies for maintaining horses and pastures to reduce mud and muck on the farm. Management practices include rain gutters, sacrifice areas, buffer strips, pasture rotation, well water protection, and manure management. These practices apply to all species of livestock. 

Managing Small-acreage Horse Farms in Central and Eastern Oregon - This publication, tailored for small acreages discusses basic management strategies for managing horses and pastures to reduce mud and muck on the farm in Central and Eastern Oregon. Management practices include rain gutters, sacrifice areas, buffer strips, pasture rotation, well water protection, and manure management. These practices apply to all species of livestock.

Composting: An Alternative for Livestock Manure Management and Disposal of Dead Animals - Livestock producers constantly face the challenge of managing manure and meeting environmental regulations. Composting is a possible alternative for handling manure. The benefits include reduced volume, enhanced soil fertility and texture, and reduced environmental risk.

Fertilizing with Manure and Other Organic Amendments - Manure is a good source of plant nutrients and organic matter. Properly managed manure application recycles nutrients to pastures and crops, improve soil quality and protect water resources. Learn about nutrient content of manure, availability of manure nutrients to crops and application variability.

Keeping Track of Manure Nutrients in Dairy Pastures - The current recommendation is to fertilize pastures at a level to replace, in equal measure, the nutrients removed through grazing or cutting each year. For operations with grazing animals, determining manure application rates and forage consumption can be challenging. This publication will help you work through this process. These general methods apply to many livestock species.