Another essential element in farm waste management is reducing nutrient losses by reducing the surface areas involved. Nitrogen is lost in the form of ammonia and nitrous oxide via volatilisation from the surface of manures. Therefore reducing the area contaminated with faeces reduces these losses. For this reason, the open surfaces of slurry tanks are best left to form a crust which reduces nitrogen losses via volatilisation. Crust formation can be encouraged by spreading straw on the slurry surface, alternatively ammonia losses can be reduced by covering the surface in a layer of vegetable oil.
Competition time - Complete the following table Type of Livestock...........Volume of manure produced litres/day 1 Dairy cow 1 Beef cow 1 Calf 1 Dry sow 1 Lactating sow & litter 1 Mature sheep 1 Fattening lamb 1000 Laying hens 1000 Pullets
