“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.