As producers look for ways to increase their profitability, one that should be considered, is the value of manure for land-application and nutrient utilization by growing crops, especially given the escalating price of commercial fertilizers.
The challenge during manure storage and application is that nitrogen compounds are volatile and when lost, the potential fertilizing value is diminished. Nitrogen loss can be 25% or greater in these situations.
Micro-Aid® in all feed, all the time will capture and conserve a significant portion of this lost manure value through its positive impact on reduced ammonia volatilization and a shift in manure nitrogen compounds from ammonium nitrogen to the more stable, organic nitrogen form. In summarizing 21 experiments, Micro-Aid® reduced ammonia emissions, on average, by 45%.
The Micro-Aid® Value Proposition Model (MAVPM) is an excellent tool to maximize the value of manure for its fertilizing purposes and improve profitability! The below screen shot from the MAVPM, highlights the following key points:
- Every 1,000 wean/finish pigs produce 266,700 gallons of manure annually, which contains 18,649 lb of total nitrogen (yellow highlighted circle).
- Given a 25% typical deep pit nitrogen storage loss via ammonia volatilization, only 13,987 lb of total nitrogen is available for land application as a fertilizer source. However, Micro-Aid® working to capture and conserve a portion of this nitrogen results in an increase of 1,864 lb for a total of 15,851 lb of nitrogen (green highlighted circle).
- Utilizing commercial fertilizer prices of $1,500 for anhydrous ammonia (82-0-0), $850 for diammonium phosphate (18-46-0) and $800 for potash (0-0-60), the net calculated value of nutrients after application cost is $8.80 per pig.
- The value of Micro-Aid® in reducing nitrogen loss via ammonia volatilization results in an increased net calculated value of nutrients after application cost of $0.83 per pig for a total of $9.63 per pig (red highlighted circle).
