The Animal Manure Management team is hosting “Applying Manure Management Concepts On-Farm” programs across the state this winter. They begin on Wednesday, Feb. 2 in Norfolk and continue throughout February and into March.

While these events have traditionally been targeted at livestock operations that are required to attend as part of their permit, the team has made huge progress the last several years in making the information in those programs very interactive and applied for anyone who uses manure. I encourage all crop farmers who use or are considering using manure to plan on attending. At the programs, you’ll discover how to determine which fields are the most economical for manure use and which fields can benefit the most from manure’s ability to improve soil health and water quality.

There are essentially two programs — an in-depth one and an applied session. The in-depth program will last much of the day and includes the applied session. It gets into the nitty gritty of what a permitted animal feeding operation needs to know about manure management and maintaining their permit, as well as meets the requirements for initial land application training.

If you’re interested in just learning more about using manure more economically or for soil and water quality benefits, the applied session in the afternoons or evenings is probably your best bet. The applied session is very interactive and most often the highlight for those who attend our manure events. Additionally, it meets recertification needs for those who are required to maintain land application certification.

While I enjoy teaching at many of these programs across the state each year, I think I’m most excited about the special session that is being piloted in West Point on Thursday, March 10. In that session, we’ll offer private pesticide training in addition to the applied manure program. The plan is to be nearly all interactive for that session and we’ll talk about where pesticide safety and manure application overlap. For those who need both manure training and pesticide training, you get both in one day — and we’ll have a sponsored lunch, too.

Dates are as follows (times are in central time unless otherwise noted):

• Norfolk — Feb. 2 at 9 a.m. (in-depth) and 1 p.m. (applied)
• Lexington — Feb. 8 at 9 a.m. (in-depth) and 1 p.m. (applied)
• Bridgeport — Feb. 9 at 9 a.m. mountain (in-depth) and 1 p.m. mountain (applied)
• Columbus — Feb. 10 at 3 pm (in-depth) and 6:30 p.m. (applied)
• North Platte — Feb. 11 at 9 a.m. (in-depth) and 1 p.m. (applied)
• Geneva, Feb — Feb. 15 at 9 a.m. (in-depth) and 1 p.m. (applied)
• West Point — Feb. 16 at 2 pm and 6 p.m. (applied)
• Atkinson — Feb. 22 at 9 a.m. (in-depth) and 1 p.m. (applied)
• West Point — March 9 at 9 a.m. (special applied session in combination with Private Pesticide)
• Concord — March 10 at 9 a.m. (in-depth) and 1 p.m. (applied)

All manure programs require pre-registration. More information can be found on our Land Application Training page. And as always, if you have a manure question, you can email me or give me a call anytime at 402-584-3818. I’m glad to talk poop, I am your Manure Educator after all.