- Maine Spudman Adds Manure and Expands Rotation
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- By Greg Brown
Associate Editor
- John Dorman wanted to spread out his potato rotations, allowing more time between potato plantings, but couldn’t find the land to do so.
His neighbor, Bob Folger, wanted to expand his dairy, but with more cows he would have had too much manure for his acreage.
Together they found a solution that proved to have unforeseen benefits. Folger offered his land for Dorman’s rotation-needs, and the dairy owner gained acreage to spread his operation’s waste.
Years later, they are still working together. And both have grown, reaping the benefits of cooperation.
Fogler’s Stoneyvale Dairy Farm and Dorman’s Double D Potato Farm in Exeter, Maine were the subject of presentations at the Michigan State University (MSU) Montcalm Research Farm field day. Both men spoke on the benefits of working cooperatively with neighbors at the July 25 farm tour.
There is growing interest among Michigan potato and vegetable producers in using manure, compost and forages to revitalize soils that have been degraded from short rotations with minimal residues, according to Sieglinde Snapp, MSU Department of Horticulture, Plant and Soil Sciences.
Interest includes how exchanges of manure disposal and feed production might grow through farmer-to-farmer agreements. Which is exactly what Folger and Dorman have.
“As our family expanded, we had to expand to keep more members involved in the business,” said Folger. Today the operation includes two generations of Folgers, as well as several cousins.
“I was at the point where I said I’ve got nothing to lose working with potato growers.” That is when he decided to use off-year corn and alfalfa land in the cooperative effort.
“The cooperation started real slow, “ said Dorman. “But it has grown into a kind of common-law marriage,” said Dorman, describing how the agreement allowed both businesses to grow, without purchasing more land. Since then both businesses have grown, allowing the potato grower and the dairy farmer to add even more land to the system.
In general, Snapp said such agreements take many forms. They can involve informal or formal contracts.
The dairy operation generally agrees to provide a market for forage produced in a potato rotation, and is responsible for harvesting the forage or arranging for a contractor to harvest it. These types of agreements provide two sources of soil-building inputs for vegetables through access to manure and benefits of including forages in the rotation, said Snapp.
Reduced risks
Mixing potatoes and manure was previously taboo because of the increased incidence of common scab. But recent research has suggested that acidic types of manure can actually suppress soil-borne pathogens. The changes in manure could point to reduced risks.
In the past, straw-filled solid manure material was common. Today, the anaerobic, fluid slurries of today’s manure storage pits are the norm. Today, Folger’s dairy uses sand, not straw, to bed his cows. The sand and waste is washed into a flurry tank that is agitated, then pumped into liquid sprayers that spread the waste on the fields.
According to Snapp, manure quality depends on animal type, feeding regime, bedding system and most of all, on how the material is stored. Snapp told growers that it is best to obtain a lab analysis of manure before applying.
In Michigan, a group of researchers, including Dr. Roy Black and Dr. Scott Swinton, agricultural economists; Dr. Rich Leep, forages; Mathieu Ngouajio, weed science; Willie Kirk, plant pathology, and Snapp, have started two long-term studies at Montcalm Research Farm on using manure and compost to improve soil productivity and crop yields in potatoes and vegetables. Results should become available over the next couple years.
The benefits
As the cooperative arrangement has progressed, the farmers have seen other side benefits. They have seen savings in the fertilizer costs. They have also seen benefits in the water retention qualities of the soil.
As a soil amendment, the application of manure increases the organic matter found in soil, aiding in moisture retention, said Snapp.
Dorman backs up this finding, reporting that, “during a dry season, what we shipped down the road was much better than what others were shipping, because the soil holds the moisture better.”
Spreading manure in the fall, the pair has saved money on fertilizer, according to soil tests. “It is an economical value,” said Tim Griffin, a researcher with the USDA-Agriculture Research Service in Orono, Maine. According to Griffin’s research the potato grower in this instance saved 60 pounds of nitrogen and 60 pounds of potassium, some years. But Griffin cautioned that the fertilizer savings have been inconsistent and hard to predict.
“There is no question that we get a better feed value, due to our ability to rotate our crops through a wider amount of land,” said Folger. “Having a bigger land base, is a huge benefit.”
Other benefits have been harder to quantify. Folger said working with a potato grower gave him a broader perspective on agriculture. “It has made our whole operation more fun,” said Folger. Both men describe their agreement as loose, but always looking ahead.
“Generally, we aren’t worried at the end of the day or week who got the best end of the deal,” said Folger. “In 20 years we will both be more successful.”
