Tone Ag Consulting Ltd.

I don’t know of too many operations that still do winter spreading, but it looks as though winter spreading of manure will be going away soon.  The current estimate is that all winter spreading of manure regardless of the size of the operation will be banned by 2013.  This isn’t a surprise as it’s in line with the recommendations put forth by the Clean Environment Commission in last year’s report.

The biggest reason for banning winter spreading is that the manure is at a huge risk of running off into watersheds.  The ground is frozen in winter, so the manure sits on top of the ground.  When the snow melts, the manure gets carried off with the water as the ground is still too frozen to absorb much.  By spreading during the spring, summer, and fall, manure returns to the land and promotes plant growth where we want it to.