Farmers and researchers tackle manure management together

Jon Greenwood bought the farm in 1978 and grew it to what it is now. He has almost 1600 cows and cultivates around 3,600 acres of a variety of crops, from alfalfa to corn silage, corn grain, soybeans and more. 

For the last two years, Greenwood has worked closely with NMSP’s On-Farm Research Coordinator Juan Carlos Ramos to implement the Value of Manure project on his farm.

“Before joining, I already believed in the research that was being done, especially with the challenges that are coming environmentally and the negative impact of nay-sayers when it comes to the value of manure,” said Greenwood. “I think every farmer knows that manure has a value — but how do we put a number to that? A project like this shows that the value of manure is important.”

A big part of what makes these on-farm research trials successful is increasing connections between farmers, researchers and others who aid farmers in their success. 

Knowing this, Ramos looked to certified crop advisor Mike Contessa of Champlain Valley Agronomics, Greenwood’s crop consultant, for both assistance and advice when it came to implementing the Greenwood Farm research trials. Having worked in the area (and specifically with Greenwood) for years, Contessa understands the farm’s land and the challenges they may face.

“Our partnership with Contessa has allowed us to use state-of-the-art precision agriculture tools to conduct our trial with accuracy and efficiency,” said Ramos. “We used GPS-guided manure application and corn seeding, and variable rate nitrogen sidedress application. We also harvested using a yield monitor system and remotely sensed the plots with a drone. All of this was possible due to Mike's extensive knowledge in precision agriculture and the farm's continued investment in precision agriculture equipment.”

Greenwood, who is also one of three co-chairs for the NNYADP, decided to join the Value of Manure project because he has seen how valuable manure can be but wanted to see it quantified on-farm. 

So, how have the preliminary results of the study stacked up to Jon Greenwood’s expectations?

“In our trial at Greenwood we observed that manure replaced inorganic fertilizer and increased yields to levels not achievable with fertilizer only,” said Ramos. “These yield benefits were also present in the second year after manure application." 

“Manure has values other than just nitrogen; we have all surmised that between the micronutrients, organic matter and microbes — all the good things in manure,” said Greenwood. “We still don’t really know what all those good things are, but now we know that there’s more than just the N, P and K.”

Ramos looks forward to continuing their collaboration with Greenwood. “Northern New York is an important dairy region in our state,” he said. “For us at NMSP, it’s great to have research at Greenwood Dairy as it brings data that is representative of that agricultural region. Working with Jon and Mike again in the third year of our Value of Manure trial on the farm will allow us to quantify the benefits of manure over multiple years.” 

For more information about the Value of Manure project, visit the Nutrient Management Spear Program website. If you’re a New York farmer interested in participating in this project, please reach out to Juan Carlos Ramos (jr2343 [at] cornell.edu (jr2343[at]cornell[dot]edu)) or Quirine Ketterings (qmk2 [at] cornell.edu).

Madeline Hanscom is a writer for the Nutrient Management Spear Program.