Impacts of Poultry Litter Application to Cropland and Rangeland Watersheds

Funded in Part through a TSSWCB EPA/§319 Grant

Cooperators:

ARS USDA TAMU TSSWCB DR. GOBBLER, Ltd.

• R. Daren Harmel, USDA-ARS - Principal Investigator
• Rick Haney, USDA-ARS
• Monty Dozier, TAMU
• Doug Smith, USDA-ARS

Project Summary


• Poultry litter application rates 0 - 6 tons/acre
• Apply poultry litter to crop fields, pastures,
  small plots
• 1m² plots to small watersheds (3-21 ac)
• Research grant from TSSWCB

Project Objectives

Collect data on water quality, crop yields, and management to evaluate:

Runoff water quality (edge of field and downstream)
Crop yield impact
Economic considerations
Scale differences
Best Management Practices (BMPs) on small plots

Publications and Presentations

• Presentation
  
  
• Fact Sheet
  
  
• Vadas, P.A., R.D. Harmel , and P.J.A. Kleinman. 2007. Transformations of soil and manure phosphorus after surface application of manure to field plots. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 77:83-99. Publication
  
  
• Green C.H., J.G. Arnold , J.R. Williams, R.Haney , and R.D. Harmel. 2007. Soil and Water Assessment Tool hydrologic and water quality evaluation of poultry litter application to small-scale subwatersheds in Texas. Transactions of ASABE 50(4):1199-1209. Publication
  
  
• Wang, X., R.D. Harmel, J.R. Williams, and W.L. Harman. 2006. Evaluation of EPIC for assessing crop yield, runoff, sediment and nutrient losses from watersheds with poultry litter fertilization. Transactions of ASABE 49(1):47-59. Publication
  
  
• Acosta-Martinez, V. and R.D. Harmel. 2006.Soil microbial communities and enzyme activities under various poultry litter application rates. Journal of Environmental Quality 35(4):1309-1318. Publication
  
  
• Harmel, R.D., H.A. Torbert, P.B. DeLaune, B.E. Haggard, and R. Haney. 2005. Field Evaluation of Several Phosphorus Index Methods on New Application Sites. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 60(1):29-42. Publication
  
  
• Torbert, H.A.,R.D. Harmel, K.N. Potter, and M. Dozier. 2005. Evaluation of Some P Index Criteria in Cultivated Agriculture in Clay Soil. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 60(1):21-29. Publication
  
  
• Harmel, R.D., H.A. Torbert, B.E. Haggard, R. Haney, and M. Dozier. 2004. Water Quality Impacts of Converting to a Poultry Litter Fertilization Strategy. Journal of Environmental Quality 33(6):2229-2242. Publication