Farmyard manure and composting

The organic farmer needs all the farmyard manure that his animals produce it is a valuable commodity for maintaining the fertility of his land, it is free and he cannot use most of the faster acting artificial fertilisers. 

Most farmyard manure is produced by overwintering beef animals indoors, and as most beef and sheep farms are situated on permanent pasture in steep or rocky areas, it is the application of farmyard manure to grassland that is most usual, particularly to fields that are cut for silage or hay. 

Poultry manure is another valuable source of nutrients to the organic farmer, but it must come from an ethical system. 

If the farmer wishes to use up as much straw as possible this will increase the litter proportion in the FYM it will also increase the bulk and reduce ammonia, and therefore nitrogen loss. 

The three most important constituents of FYM are nitrogen, phosphate and potash. Additionally, there are the bulky organic parts derived mainly from the straw and the part of the food that has resisted digestion. Granstedt (2002) showed that the majority of the N (about 90%) in farmyard manure served to maintain the soil humus store and the long term capacity to supply nutrients. 

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