Tipsheet: Manure in Organic Production Systems

Livestock manure is a valuable resource for organic and sustainable soil management. It is most effectively used in combination with other sustainable practices such as crop rotation, cover cropping, green manuring, and liming. In organic production, manure is commonly applied to the field as raw manure (fresh or dried) or composted manure (Kuepper, 2003). Manure can add important plant nutrients (nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, collectively known as NPK) to the soil and improve soil quality. Composting raw manure by adding other feedstocks and bedding will aid decomposition and produce a humus-rich finished product with little to no ammonium or soluble nitrate. This finished product will build soil fertility (Evanylo et al., 2008). The timing of manure application is very important to ensure that the manure benefits the plants and soil. Manure, if applied and managed correctly, can be a great means of enhancing soil and crop quality, but there are some important aspects of soil health and food safety to consider when using it in an organic farm system.