“in general, manure application on any crops is not advised.” With the T-sum value hovering near 200 in several areas across the Fraser Valley, it is important to remember the other factors to consider before a forage field is suitable for spreading manure.

Refer to Manure Spreading Advisory #3 of 2017 (Nov 1, 2017) for the current Advisory: “in general, manure application on any crops is not advised.” The following Update does not change the Advisory. The T-Sum is one factor used to determine appropriate timing for the first manure application on grass fields. More importantly, however, decisions about the first manure application should consider the overall risks of runoff from the field, not just the state of the grasses. On some but not all fields, conditions will be suitable for manure application before T-Sum reaches 200. On other fields, conditions will not be suitable even after T-Sum reaches 200 (e.g. if fields are still saturated from rains). T-Sum values, a sum of daily mean temperatures above 0°C, for the region are listed below and compared with values for the same time last year and the historical average.

November 1, 2017. The Manure Spreading Advisory Committee (consisting of industry and government representatives) is advising against manure applications due to lower air temperatures, the increased potential of significant rain events, and lack of vegetative cover and/or reduced nutrient uptake of cover crops. The committee will monitor weather and soil conditions and will issue further advisories as conditions change.

The Manure Spreading Advisory Committee (consisting of industry and government representatives) is advising careful manure application for select fields. The committee will monitor weather and soil conditions and will issue further advisories as conditions change.

Refer to Manure Spreading Advisory #1 of 2017 (April 3, 2017) for the current Advisory. The following Update does not change the Advisory. Considerations for spreading manure during warm weather With the onset of warm weather around the South Coast of BC it is important to consider the impact of high temperatures on nitrogen (N) loss from manure. Volatilization of ammonia during and shortly after application is greatly increased when temperatures are high. Several other factors including manure composition, time to incorporation, wind, soil pH and moisture, and application method will impact ammonia loss as well. However, spreading manure when temperatures are above 25°C can result in a loss of 50% of the ammonia N within three hours of application. To avoid losing the readily available ammonia N in your manure Apply during the cooler times of day and when wind speeds are low Incorporate the manure as soon as possible Farmwest.com provides an Ammonia Loss From Manure calculator which can help predict the potential N loss during manure application. Losing ammonia from manure is a direct loss of its fertilizer value and should be considered when planning application timing and calculating manure’s contribution to crop N requirements.