In 1996, Canadian livestock produced an estimated 361 million kilograms of manure daily. This translated to over 132 billion kilograms of manure for the year. Of this total amount of livestock manure, 52% was produced by beef cattle, followed by dairy cows (19%), hogs (16%), calves (7%), poultry (3%), horses (3%), and sheep (less than 1%).

The accompanying map shows the distribution of livestock manure production by sub-sub-basin in 1996. There were five major clusters where manure production was concentrated at the highest level of over 2 000 kilograms of manure per hectare of total land. These clusters are located in central and southern Alberta, southern Manitoba, southern Ontario, southeastern Quebec and Prince Edward Island (where there were two sub-sub-basins in the top category). Beyond these clusters, there were two other sub-sub-basins in this highest category, one located in the west Fraser River area in southern British Columbia, and a sub-sub-basin near Wolfville and Kentville, Nova Scotia.

Estimated Total Manure Production by Sub-sub-basin, 1996

Source: Statistics Canada, Environment Accounts and Statistics Division and Agriculture Division

The livestock in the Maitland sub-sub-basin, located east of Lake Huron, produced the most manure at 7 610 kilograms per hectare. There were few sub-sub-basins with the highest levels of manure production. There were only four sub-sub-basins that produced over 5 000 kilograms of manure per hectare: the Maitland (Ontario), Upper Thames (Ontario), Yamaska (Quebec) and Grand (Ontario) sub-sub-basins (see figure on map). This is much higher than the average amount of manure produced in a sub-sub-basin, which was 755 kilograms per hectare. Of the 10 sub-sub-basins that produced the most manure per hectare, half were located in southwestern Ontario.