Questions on composting manure and straw (first time)

[svenlylethor]

I have a bunch of manure in the corrals at my dad's farm. He sometimes stacks it in windrows and just lets it sit. We spread fresh manure in one of our fields a few years back and it came all weeds the next spring. I've also got a few stacks of old hay/straw that weren't covered and are pretty much rotting away.

With all this manure and old hay that rots I've looked into turning it into compost and either using it on the farm or selling it by the truckload on the side. I might as well do something constructive and get rid of it.

I looked up a bunch of sites and found that this one gave me a pretty good understanding on how to do it. I found the C/N ratio of barley straw on the internet (85) and cow manure (20) and after using the equation in the report go get a perfect ratio of 30:1 compost, I need about 85% manure and 15% straw.

This is my plan - on some land that I'm not using I'm going to make a strip of old straw bedding a few inches thick, layer a foot of fresh manure on it, water it, and repeat till I have a 4-5 foot high windrow. I'll let it set for the winter and as soon as it starts warming up I'll turn it with my tractor loader, water it, and wait a few more weeks till I turn it again. I'll repeat the process a few times till I have my compost finished. I'll also check the temperature to make sure it gets over 145 for a few days so all the weed seeds die out.

Here are my noobie questions I want to ask to all you who compost:

1) I've read that a small layer of compost on the top helps speed the process but I don't have any. Could I use dirt or old decomposing manure?

2) Can I do this with manure that has been sitting in a corral for years and years? I have some old corrals that have over a foot of manure that's been there for 10+ years. it's just layers and layers of manure and bedding.

3) Should I cover the manure to speed up the composting process? I've read about covering manure so it doesn't lose/get too much moisture from the elements. I live in a very hot and dry area so I wasn't sure if I should just water the compost more or if covering it will make it compost faster.

4) Once I'm done making compost, will it lose its value if I let it sit there for 6+ months?

Thanks in advance for your responses. I'm just trying to figure out some ways to make the farm a little more efficient.

 

[MMagis]

Honestly, I think you’re overthinking it. The bigger pile you can make, the better it will heat up. Pile it all up, turn it occasionally, and let nature take its course. There should be no need to water it unless your area receives little rain/snow. Be prepared for the mountain you pile up this year to be nothing more than a speed bump next year.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Honestly, I think you’re overthinking it. The bigger pile you can make, the better it will heat up. Pile it all up, turn it occasionally, and let nature take its course. There should be no need to water it unless your area receives little rain/snow. Be prepared for the mountain you pile up this year to be nothing more than a speed bump next year.

I agree. It never works the way you want it to any way. I do know that the finer the material, and the more you turn it, the faster it works if it is wet. I used to add dirt to my compost, and cover it in dirt.

 

[Egon]

Try and get a pile that has the least surface area. Covered with dirt doesn't hurt at all. If you have extra straw mix it in. The corral manure sure will not hurt. The digging it process may upset your olfactory glands! And that of the neighbours.

 

[svenlylethor]

Try and get a pile that has the least surface area. Covered with dirt doesn't hurt at all. If you have extra straw mix it in. The corral manure sure will not hurt. The digging it process may upset your olfactory glands! And that of the neighbours.

I've got an air-conditioned tractor and no sense of smell so I'm not too worried about the odor. :laughing: My neighbors are about 600 feet away from the pile I'm making so I don't think the'll get much of a smell from it either... I hope.

One of them is right across the street from one of our corrals and he's definitely raised spoken his mind about all the manure. :ashamed: My dad isn't very good about cleaning the mangers out.

 

[boggen]

there are some regulations out there that deal with compost piles. along with odor smell. along with water regulations (being to close to wells, lakes, streams, etc..) possibly run off water being an issue from pile/s. there may be some sort of distance issue from your own home / other folks homes.

keeping correct temperatures , aerating pile (turning pile) i would think help speed up overall process of stuff breaking down.

getting into non-aerobic bacteria, bugs, etc... that dislike oxygen. = generally takes much longer to break stuff down. when speaking about waste treatment.

getting into aerobic waste treatment that deals with getting air mix'ed into the process = a shorter time for stuff to break down.

would suggest contacting local agricultural department for your area. they might recommend some things. work with them and you will more likely get much further along.

might suggest watching some youtube videos from other folks that have some sort of composite buisness or DIY compost for homes. and reading up on the material. most of it is all the same just different amounts "small home" vs large waste from livestock. and ways of doing certain things to make better use of tools / area at hand.

 

[KennyG]

Once it starts composting, the odor will probably be less than the manure was originally. If you want to jump start it, get some compost starter. Spread a package of that through it and it will get going in a hurry.

 

[boggen]

Once it starts composting, the odor will probably be less than the manure was originally. If you want to jump start it, get some compost starter. Spread a package of that through it and it will get going in a hurry.

i have always been skiddish of "compost starters", "septic starters", pond filter starters, etc.... majority of it is all scam to me.

it takes time for certain bacteria to grow and take hold. once they get a hold, another type starts up, then another type, and then another type. etc.., etc... it all takes time to initially get the bacteria / single celled organisms and other stuff to get a foot hold and start doing there thing. the object is keeping the bacteria and like alive and thriving.

some bacteria / single cell organisms. slow down and go into hibernation per say as temperatures get cooler. and some might die off as temperatures get to warm. or perhaps food source has ran out.

bacteria / single cell organisms. if not treated / handled properly is not going to do much if they are dead / non active. from the various "quick start stuff out there" as they get packaged / shipped / delivered. it takes time for bacteria colonies and everything to grow and take a foot hold. and create the "food chain per say" as stuff gets broken down.

trying to jump start something. when there is not a food supply for it yet / correct conditions met yet... kinda defeats things.

 

[PHPaul]

All great advice so far.

I would just emphasize that monitoring the pile temperature and turning/aerating it are the keys to optimizing the process both for speed and for quality of finished product.

If you don't keep the pile turned, it compacts and squeezes all the air out, allowing anaerobic bacteria to control the process. What you get then is slime and stink.

 

[KennyG]

I often have compost piles that are heavy on oak leaves and low on green material. It would take a couple of years on it's own. With compost starter, it's done in a year. It does work if you have trouble getting it going.