MSU Extension Fair and Exhibition Animal Health

Manure storage checklist

When storing manure, consider how the location may affect daily task efficiency and ensure appropriate environmental stewardship practices. Additionally, the storage needs to have a practical, easily understood approach that is economically responsible.

Manure management storage location practices should take environmental stewardship into account. For each storage site ask yourself:

• Is the material of the manure storages’ base concrete or asphalt?
• Do the storages have walls?
• Do the storages have a small curb on the entrances to keep manure contained and prevent runoff from the piles?
• Are there gutters on the buildings to prevent clean rainwater from entering the manure storages?
• Are the storages equipped with sumps to provide a place for wastewater to collect?

For questions about storage location refer to the first fact sheet in this series.

REMEMBER: Kids will be pushing full wheelbarrows. These can be quite heavy and unstable.

Calculating the size of a manure storage

If you plan to build or have an existing manure storage structure, the capacity (volume) of the manure storage can be calculated in cubic feet (ft³).

Capacity = Length x Width x Height

Refer to Table 1 that shows how much manure can be produced per day. Realistically, consider how manure will be managed. Build a structure to the appropriate (or even excess of 20%) volume carrying capacity.

Capacity needed = Number of each animal species (cubic ft produced) x Number of days before removed

(Source: American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers [ASABE], March 2005, R2014, D384.2) The standard can be obtained by contacting ASABE in St. Joseph, Michigan. Presented as bolded text in the table is from the Midwest Plan Service Publication MWPS–18, Section 1 (2000).

For example, a feeder lamb around 100 lb., will produce 1.05 lb. of manure per day, which means that over the course of seven days, 7.35 lb. total. If we look at the totals for nutrients over the course of seven days, we would see the following: 0.28 lb. of N, 0.14 lb. of P₂O₅, and 0.28 lb. of K₂O. Then think about how these numbers will change when considering all feeder lambs present at fair for one week.

Stockpiling as an alternative to a storage

Temporarily stockpiling manure, a practice where manure is piled on the ground for limited amount of time outside of a storage facility, is an acceptable practice with appropriate management. The following points for this practice are outlined in the 2020 Michigan Generally Accepted Management Practices (GAAMPs):

• Can the stockpile locations be rotated, completely removing manure from the location after the event?
• Is the previous location reseeded after removal to allow vegetation to take up the nutrients that have accumulated in the soil?
• Are records kept documenting timing of removal and the location used?
• Do the stockpile locations prevent runoff from flowing onto neighboring property or into surface waters?
• Are the manure stockpiles at least 50 feet away from property lines or 150 feet from homes?

Dumpsters as an alternative storage

If you lack other options, large dumpsters may be a viable option for some, especially during the winter months of the year. This type of manure storage, which includes removal, can be expensive. However, if you consider this option, choose a location where driveway accessibility is appropriate for the truck to pick up and deliver dumpsters during times of the year when weather is inclement. Be sure to work with your waste disposal company to make sure that manure is an acceptable waste for their landfill.