The U.S. agricultural landscape has rapidly evolved with a shift
to bigger and more specialized farms, along with a large increase
in commercial fertilizer use. This shift has resulted in less
opportunity to jointly manage manure and plant nutrient needs
within a single operation. Further, livestock operations are
becoming more consolidated, thus larger operations are producing a
greater volume of manure on smaller areas. A higher
manure-to-cropland ratio has magnified the risk that manure
nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium) and pathogens that
might flow into ground and surface water due to overapplication of
manure on crops or leakage from manure storage facilities.
ERS conducts research on how livestock farmers may be compensating
with higher manure-to-cropland ratios through more effective manure
management, specifically: