Manure Management for Youth Projects

Here's the Scoop

Animals at a farm operation are enclosed in pastures, meadows, barnyards, and barn areas. Keeping those animals together in one place leads to concentrated areas of manure where piles add up. Even when just a few animals, or a single animal, are being raised for a couple of months before the summer fair season, that manure can add up fast. Did you know that a single pig can produce 1 ton of manure in the five months it takes to grow to 250 pounds?

Manure makes excellent fertilizer, but it can also significantly impact our local waterways.

Manure can leach into our groundwater and run downhill in the rain and melting snow, ending up in our creeks and ponds. Manure can carry pathogens, like bacteria, into our drinking water and favorite fishing holes. It also adds nutrients to the water, that good stuff in our fertilizer (nitrogen, phosphorus.) That may not sound bad, but it is. When we have too many nutrients in the water, it causes algae to bloom. A thick coat of algae in the water looks terrible and ends up depleting all of the oxygen dissolved in the water. That oxygen is critical for fish and other aquatic life to survive. Some significant bodies of water across the country now have "dead zones" because the oxygen isn't there to support life.

Rules and Regulations in Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, everyone who produces or applies manure to the land must have a written plan about how they manage their manure. Many smaller farms, hobby farms, and youth who are raising project animals may not know about the impacts of waste and the type of plan they need to write. Penn State Extension has created a new resource to help. With the support of the PA Department of Environmental Protection and the contributions of partners at the Lancaster County Conservation District and Manheim Central Ag-Ed program, a new project book is available to help guide youth in manure management.

New Youth Project About Manure Management

"Manure Management Planning for Youth Animal Projects" is a curriculum full of hands-on activities, career exploration, and more. It includes chapters on manure composition, soil types, how plants utilize manure, manure impacts on water, mapping for planning, and the basics of a PA Manure Management Plan. We encourage all youth raising animals for 4-H and FFA/Ag-Ed programs to include this new project in their learning experiences. Teaching youth about manure management also makes an excellent topic for a Meaningful Watershed Education Experience (MWEE.)