By AGPROfessionals Valene Cauhorn, PE, Miguel Mena, Agronomist, and Brian Scarrow, Certified NMP Writer

** See the handy WINTER NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT PLANNING CHECKLIST attached **

As winter approaches, dairies and CAFOs, especially those in colder climates, enter a critical planning phase. While cold-weather preparation often focuses on herd comfort, equipment maintenance, and feed inventory, nutrient management is equally important for protecting farm resources and maintaining regulatory compliance.

Cold temperatures, frozen ground, snow cover, and spring thaw events significantly increase the risk of nutrient runoff and loss. A proactive nutrient management strategy helps safeguard manure nutrients, preserve soil health, protect water quality, and position operations for a successful growing season ahead.

Assess Manure Storage Readiness

Adequate manure storage capacity is essential during winter months when land application is limited or prohibited. Prior to winter, dairy operators should confirm that lagoons and storage facilities can safely accommodate manure, parlor process water, and winter runoff.

Fact: Livestock producers manage a lot of manure. It’s odorous, abundant—and surprisingly valuable. When handled properly, manure becomes a powerful organic fertilizer that improves soil health, reduces input costs, and supports long-term sustainability.

Think about it: a single dairy cow can produce around 80 pounds of manure each day. Multiply that by a herd, and the numbers add up quickly. With such a plentiful resource, it makes sense to manage it wisely rather than view it as a waste problem.

Effective manure management comes down to three things: good records, reliable sampling, and a thoughtful nutrient management plan. Here’s how to make the most of it.

Understanding Manure’s Value

Manure contains essential nutrients—nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium—that crops need to thrive. While “book values” published by universities and extension services can provide baseline estimates, relying solely on those averages can be risky. Nutrient content varies widely depending on animal diet, housing, storage, and handling methods.

That’s why regular manure testing is a best practice. According to the University of Minnesota Extension, relying only on book values can lead to over- or under-application of nutrients, reducing yields or contributing to water quality issues. Testing ensures:

Manure happens. If you’re a livestock producer, you’re likely continually exploring ways to manage all that …, well, manure. Fortunately, AGPROfessionals is in the business of helping clients manage their … manure!

In this article, we take a look at draglines as an efficient method for application in your crop fields.

Draglines

Manure from dairies and feedlots is a valuable source of fertilizer, providing nitrogen and phosphorus to crops while increasing soil organic matter content. Manure can be applied to a field via broadcast methods, where manure is simply spread on top of the soil surface, or it can be “injected” below the soil surface. Regardless of whether manure is broadcast or injected, draglines have been shown to be the most efficient method of applying large volumes of manure.

Draglines are systems that pump manure from their storage location through a series of hoses that feed into an applicator on a tractor that then broadcasts or injects manure into a field. Draglines are commonly used by dairies to apply slurry since the liquid nature of the slurry allows it to be pumped through hoses. This method is more cost-efficient for larger dairies with crop ground near manure storage locations, as draglines allow the rapid transport of millions of gallons of manure slurry to a field but are typically limited to a 3-mile range. While the efficiency of the dragline system is difficult to beat, farmers must take care not to overapply manure to their fields and develop proper manure nutrient management plans.