Uncovering the value of manure: Sustainable farming in the NYC watershed

Cornell Cooperative Extension
Animal Science
Environment
Dairy
Crops
Soil

by Madeline Hanscom

The Value of Manure project aims to help farmers understand the value of cow manure and use it as efficiently as they can, reducing reliance on nitrogen (N) based synthetic fertilizers. Jointly funded by the New York Farm Viability Institute (NYFVI) and the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP), this project has been active since 2022. One of the partners for this project is Hanselman farms, located in Delaware County and the Delaware River watershed portion of the New York City drinking water supply watershed.

The Hanselman family has owned and operated their neighboring farms, Windy Acres and DelRose farms, since 1954 and 1979, respectively. They have a dairy herd of about 60 cows as well as significant vegetable (primarily sweet corn) and cash crop enterprises.

The Hanselmans have worked closely with nutrient management planners from the Watershed Agricultural Council and Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Delaware County on feed and manure nutrient management since 2003. From there, it was a natural transition to start working with the Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP) in 2022, collaborating with NMSP’s On-Farm Research Coordinator Juan Carlos Ramos on the Value of Manure project.

We spoke with the Hanselmans about why they wanted to join the study.

"With these research trials, we will be able to put numbers to it. Exactly how much more does it cost us to put an acre of manure injected down versus putting it on top? It’s a good thing to know, and participating in this project helps us with that.”

“We are fortunate because we are both dairy farmers and crop growers,” explained Ladd Hanselman. “Because of this, we have manure readily available to use as fertilizer on our farm– there are many crop growers that don’t have manure. We want to put it to good use and stretch it as far as we can. With these research trials, we will be able to put numbers to it. Exactly how much more does it cost us to put an acre of manure injected down versus putting it on top? It’s a good thing to know, and participating in this project helps us with that.”

Over the last ten years, the Hanselmans have fully committed to no-till crop cultivation, meaning that they do not turn and disturb the soil to plant crops or incorporate their manure. No-till practices are often adopted to promote better soil structure and a potentially healthier microbiome. The Hanselmans partnered with the Value of Manure project hoping to learn how to use their manure as efficiently as possible in their no-till system.

A row of corn silage in its juvenile stage. — A field where the Value of Manure study is conducted. Photo by Juan Carlos Ramos.

An active manure spreader driving through a green field. — A manure spreader spreads manure in a field. Photo by Juan Carlos Ramos.

“No-till is good for soil health, but it can make management of manure nutrients more challenging,” said NMSP’s Ramos. “If manure is not incorporated in the ground, less of its nitrogen will be crop available.”

When it comes to success in on-farm research and problem-solving, collaboration is key.

“We have worked closely with Paul Cerosaletti (agricultural program team leader, CIG Enhanced Manure Management project coordinator) and Dale Dewing (senior team leader, WAP Nutrient Management) during our two years of research to coordinate trial implementation and data collection, and to disseminate our findings,” said Ramos. “Working with them has allowed us to better understand the agricultural landscape in Delaware County and adapt our research protocols accordingly.”

Four men stand by a truck near a farm field. — Ben Hepler, Conservation Planner, Watershed Agricultural Council, (far left), Dale Dewing (second from left), Juan Carlos Ramos Tanchez and Paul Cerosaletti getting ready to scout a field.

A researcher walking in a field and placing something on the ground. — A researcher collects a sample in the field. Photo by Juan Carlos.

In 2025, a new USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) project is building a "manure injection custom services business" in the Delaware County New York City watershed, where the Hanselmans’ farm is located. With this new service, the Hanselmans will be able to "inject" manure in a way that is compatible with their no-till system, while still incorporating the manure into the soil— drastically increasing the share of manure N that will be crop available.

“The CIG project is bringing disk coulter injection to Delaware County, a technology that we have not had in the region, allowing us to capture the full fertilizer value of manure on both row crop and sod fields, while reducing nutrient run-off risk,” said Cerosaletti. “This is especially advantageous to many of our committed no-till farmers like the Hanselmans who can’t use tillage to incorporate manure. It’s a win-win for our farmers and the environment!”

A disk coulter injector. — Disk coulter injection equipment. Photo by Paul Cerosaletti.

With the new CIG project coming into play this year, the project partners anticipate gaining information about how manure injection could contribute to their efficiency. The project allows farmers to determine if a manure injector would be a good investment when it comes to their economic and environmental sustainability.

“One of the advantages of participating in the Value of Manure project is that we are able to experiment with manure injection and see what happens,” said Hanselman.

“If I had to put down commercial fertilizer or manure, I’d rather put down manure in the long run,” Hanselman said. He explained that he’s more comfortable with manure given that, unlike synthetic fertilizers, he knows where it’s coming from— his own farm. He also stated that he has seen how well manure boosts and maintains crop yield, making him more confident that an investment in optimizing application methods is worth making.

A farm field with hills in the back. — A farm field where research is conducted. Photo by Juan Carlos Ramos.

In addition, as part of the Value of Manure project, the NMSP team has also been investigating the microbiome of the soil on the farm. “Manure is like a vitamin,” Ernie Hanselman said. “There are lots of microbes in it, organisms that we don’t even know everything about— all the good stuff, not just nitrogen.”

There is immense value in the mutual learning that inherently happens as a part of on-farm research, Ramos pointed out. “Going back at the end of the season and discussing our findings has been a great two-way learning process. This gives us the opportunity to hear the farmers that we work with express what questions are relevant for the farm and share our latest findings.”

“I look forward to continuing our work with the Hanselmans, Paul Ceroseletti and Dale Dewing in 2025, under the context of their CIG manure injection custom application services to the New York City watershed and under a new NYFVI project called the Power of Manure.” Ramos said. “We are planning to test the agronomic and environmental benefits of these new services and all of this data will also be used to inform our manure crediting system updates.”

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

Uncovering the value of manure: Sustainable farming in the NYC watershed

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