Manure disposal

[dungrulla]

So three months in and my manure pile is getting pretty…gargantuan. It’s right next to the neighbor’s property, and in the interest of being a good neighbor, I’d like if it weren’t so huge and unsightly. Unfortunately our lot is only 200 feet wide so there isn’t a whole lot of places for us to put manure.

My husband is furious that I want to have someone truck some of it away rather than compost, and I can’t seem to get him to see reason on this. We only have 5 1/2 acres, we do not need the 8 tons per animal plus bedding of manure these creatures produce yearly on our property. We need to have someone truck some of it off.

Am I being reasonable here? Am I just crazy? What do you do for manure disposal?

[NorthernHunter]

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to have it trucked away. If ever you have a need for some the horses will continue producing. Given that it’s near your neighbour I would definitely keep it from getting too large and unsightly. I would also consider that if neighbour has a pond or well nearby that your manure would have runoff heading their way… that was a huge consideration for us when planning where our manure would be kept. Small acreages often have their manure trucked away since it’s more volume than they can use.

[2DogsFarm]

I am also on 5ac with currently 1 horse, 1 pony & a mini.
For the past 14yrs I have had at least 2 horses aka nonstop-manure-machines onsite.
My main manure piles are placed alongside my indoor arena - just outside the sliding doors on either side.
My acreage is rectangular & the piles parallel the long side & are set back from adjoining property.

I have been fortunate to have neighbors who willingly cart away a lot of the composted stuff & another neighbor with a tractor/FEL who flattens/spreads what’s left.
In both cases they can access the piles w/o contact with horses or myself.
I point out how to get to the piles & they do the rest.

You might also contact your local Master Gardeners club & offer free compost.
Either you take the time & bag it, or they do. You can provide contractor-strength garbage bags or even old feed bags for this.
Caveat: I did this, complete with leaving flyers at a MG Sale & got zip response {shrugs}

[js]

Can you get a dumpster that’s emptied weekly? That’s what we use. Cost is $78 monthly for a 3 yard dumpster, that’s big enough for 4 horses worth of manure with out filling the dumpster up.

[purlsnponies]

Be very careful offering composted manure to others if your horses eat hay. Unless you know the grower, and they can vouch for exactly what’s been applied to their pastures, you could end up with unhappy gardeners.

https://compostingcouncil.org/persistent-herbicide-faq/

[Simkie]

Having it hauled away is certainly not unreasonable. But it should be fairly well composted at this point? I guess it is dependent on climate etc but my pile is useable compost after maybe 4-6 weeks. We use it to fill in low or uneven spots around the property and it’s amazing how quickly it disappears.

If your husband is insistent on composing, show him the compost systems. It’s SO slick and really reduces the size of the pile quickly.

[2DogsFarm]

@purlsnponies Good point.
My hay is cut & baled by neighbors who lease fields all over town - including a small portion of my acreage.
I know for a fact they do not spray the fields they cut.

[pluvinel]

FYI, in some states the placement and management of manure piles is regulated by the State Department of Environmental Protection, not local laws. Some states require that farms have a formal “Manaure Management Plan” on file.

If you want something to provide the impetus to reduce the manure pile, read up on the State regulations and see if you are in compliance.

If you are not, you are lucky and perhaps is a good reason to minimize the pile and maintain good neighbor relations.

[ChocoMare]

I have 2 draft-x mares on 3 acres of dirt/rocks. I scrape regularly with the tractor and pile it up on one side, then cover with 10 mil black plastic to hasten composting. I give it away every spring to gardeners for Free. I start a new pile on the right side and repeat the next year.

Everyone’s happy

[trubandloki]

To support your haul away idea you might want to check into what your local rules are about keeping a manure pile and how far off the property line it has to be.

[dungrulla]

@pluvinel

FYI, in some states the placement and management of manure piles is regulated by the State Department of Environmental Protection, not local laws. Some states require that farms have a formal “Manaure Management Plan” on file.

If you want something to provide the impetus to reduce the manure pile, read up on the State regulations and see if you are in compliance.

If you are not, you are lucky and perhaps is a good reason to minimize the pile and maintain good neighbor relations.

This is exactly the kind of thing I’m worried about. I’m learning quickly that having good neighbor relations is extremely important in a rural area. My other neighbor and I were talking casually about building something that’s against the zoning requirements and his response was ‘that sounds cool, we won’t fight you if you go ask for variance for it’. A neighbor that actively disliked us would likely not be so accommodating.

I wouldn’t want a stinky manure pile right up against my property line either so I think I am going to have someone haul some of it away, then we will keep just what we need for composting in the raised beds.

[TheJenners]

Man you guys must have ideal weather for composting, ours here takes about a year just sitting a pile… :no:

OP I bought a dump trailer a few years ago and I bring my manure to people who want it, with the understanding that it is still POOP and not compost. Some people, when they ask, think I’m bringing them gorgeous wonderful composted dirt, and it is a surprise that I’m not. Trust me, if it composted in the time it took me to fill my dump trailer, I’d keep it. I have a friend who has a contract for a local organic/hip/chic/whatever restaurant to supply veggies, and he happily takes all the manure I can bring him. Two horses and two mini donkeys, and I muck paddocks as well as stalls, so it turns into a lot of a manure. I generally fill my 4x6 trailer once a month or so, depending on how much I’m getting out to the big paddocks.

[Libby2563]

@TheJenners

OP I bought a dump trailer a few years ago and I bring my manure to people who want it, with the understanding that it is still POOP and not compost. Some people, when they ask, think I’m bringing them gorgeous wonderful composted dirt, and it is a surprise that I’m not.

Yeah, I have an O2 Compost system and in the amount of time I am able to let it compost (anywhere from 3-8 weeks depending on time of year and how much horses are stalled), it has never once ended up looking like anything other than horse poop.

If you can get it hauled away for a reasonable price, that’s definitely what I would do. It is so much easier than having to deal with manure/compost. I actually wrote a massive blog post about the pros and cons of composting if you’re interested: https://thesmallhorsefarm.blogspot.com/2018/06/aerated-compost-is-it-right-for-you.html

If your husband is so “furious” about that, tell him he can be the one to turn the pile and spread it, or explain to the neighbors why there’s a massive and ever-growing mound of horse shit near the property line.

[Lolliver]

@Libby2563

I actually wrote a massive blog post about the pros and cons of composting if you’re interested: https://thesmallhorsefarm.blogspot.com/2018/06/aerated-compost-is-it-right-for-you.html

I’m sure you are able to manage your blog. There is a rather undesirable comment at the end of your “poop” post that you may want to delete! :lol:

[Simkie]

@TheJenners

Man you guys must have ideal weather for composting, ours here takes about a year just sitting a pile… :no:

Do you turn it at all? I go at my pile with the FEL every two weeks or so–nothing fancy, I just set up the newer stuff to make the pile smaller/taller, and will sometimes push around the edges of the older stuff–and it doesn’t take long at all to not be steamy anymore and look like dirt. I think it might also help that it’s not shavings? The pelleted bedding seems to break down SO much faster.

[Libby2563]

@Lolliver

I’m sure you are able to manage your blog. There is a rather undesirable comment at the end of your “poop” post that you may want to delete! :lol:

Oh my goodness!!! Undesirable is an understatement. There were actually like 10 of them on a bunch of different pages so thank you very much for letting me know. Usually I get an email if someone comments but the emails must have gotten filtered due to the ahem undesirable content. Flaw in the system! Thanks again.

[Christa_P]

I would suggest a small spreader and just spread on unused fields. You can keep a small compost pile and spread the excess.

[S1969]

I compost my manure even if I don’t use it all, but I have the space to do it.

However, I will say that I stopped using shavings only a few months into horse ownership mostly because of the bulk it added to the manure pile. What kind of bedding are you using?

Wood pellets add far less to the pile and compost much faster.

[TCA_Arabians]

We also use a dumpster and the manure is hauled out weekly at $112/mo. We also use it for yard trimmings. Added bonus: it reduces flies!!! We’re on a slope and when it rains hard we’ll get runoff divets in the driveways. Manure is great fill. Stuff is like concrete. I did learn the hard way that a little bit of the compost goes a long way. I burned the roots on several azaleas learning that lesson. Here in CA, there are rules for how close anything horse can be to the property lines and to wells.

[TheJenners]

@Libby2563

Yeah, I have an O2 Compost system and in the amount of time I am able to let it compost (anywhere from 3-8 weeks depending on time of year and how much horses are stalled), it has never once ended up looking like anything other than horse poop.

Tell me more about your system! Which do you have? I have thought getting a compost “system,” whether this company or just a three bin with no air ducts (concrete, FEL-wide, turn as needed), and am just not sure if I want to make the plunge or not… Are you saying that even after composting for eight weeks, it is still manure? Just, what, safer to use on plants, etc? I am building a large garden and would love to be able to have usable compost in just eight weeks.