Measuring Liquid Manure Nutrients

If you are relying on manure nutrients as your primary fertilizer source, you can't expect to maintain crop production if you don't know how much you are applying. While the right flow meter, properly installed, is by far the simplest and most accurate method of measuring flow rates, there are also other ways that can be used when a flow meter isn't available.

Measuring Liquid Manure Application Rates will get you started with ideas on many different ways of measuring or estimating liquid manure application rates. Most of these don't require installing a flow meter.

Resources to choose, install, and use flow meters are here: Flow Meters for Dairy Nutrient Management

The gpm + run time method can be used with either pumped or gravity flow lagoons once you know the flow rate from the pump or pipe outlet. We have developed worksheets and instructions for determining the gpm from the pond or pump, and also application targeting tools and field data sheets to use with this measurement method.

GPM + Run Time Measurement Method

For information and tools for using pond drop as a measurement method, go here: Pond Drop Measurement Method

Irrigation data sheets, calculation worksheets and spreadsheets to help with recordkeeping for each of these methods are here: Recordkeeping for Nutrient Management