|
Farm Environmental Management in Canada >
Article
Manure storage in Canada
Introduction
Livestock manure storage and the environment
Types of manure storage systems
Manure storage systems on Canadian farms
Summary
Introduction
This article is part of a series of studies collectively called Farm
Environmental Management in Canada. The objective of the series
is to publish the results of the 2001 Farm Environmental Management Survey
(FEMS).1
The series presents information about the farming practices used on Canadian
farms as they relate to a number of agri-environmental topics such as manure,
water, chemical inputs and sustainable land management practices.
This first article describes the characteristics of livestock manure storage
systems that Canadian farmers had in place in 2001. The discussion focuses
more specifically on manure storage systems for dairy, beef cattle and hogs,
which together generate the largest amount of manure on farms in Canada.2 Manure
storage varies by province depending on the relative importance of livestock
production, the characteristics of the production systems and the environmental
conditions in which these systems have evolved. Although the focus of the analysis
is mainly on the national level, some highlights about manure storage systems
are also presented on a provincial basis (see also Data
tables).
In addition, provincial data are available upon request for further analysis.
The topics include some key characteristics of storage such as construction
materials for storage structures, capacity, distance from a water source and
adoption of Beneficial Management Practices.
Note to readers:
Readers should be aware that FEMS data alone are insufficient
to assess environmental risks. The FEMS data are meant to provide
an overall picture of various farming practices that have an impact
on the environment. To have a full appreciation of farmers’ adoption
of environmental management practices and of their impact (positive
or negative) on the environment, additional information and more
comprehensive analysis are required. Thus, readers are invited
to use caution when interpreting these data.
A previous survey, the Farm Input Management Survey 1995, (FIMS),
collected similar information on manure storage systems in Canada.
However, FIMS and FEMS data cannot be readily compared because
of differences in survey design, sample size and questions asked. |
Livestock manure storage and the environment
Canada is a country with vast farmlands, abundant water resources and productive
agricultural areas. For these reasons, Canada has become a major producer of
livestock and animal products. Based on livestock inventories on July 1, 20013, the cattle population in Canada was estimated at 15.4 million head, of which
1.6 million were dairy cows and heifers. There were an estimated 1.2 million
head of sheep and lambs, approximately 14 million hogs4 and 609 million broiler
chickens.5 A further 26.3 million laying hens provided the country’s eggs.6 In addition, 461,000 horses and ponies, 183,000 goats, 145,000 bison (buffalo),
128,000 elk and deer, 8.1 million turkeys, 5.3 million specialty poultry (mostly
ducks and geese), 1.3 million mink, 256,000 rabbits and a wide range of other
animals provided a great variety of different meat and animal products. The
livestock industry is an important part of Canadian agriculture, accounting
for $18.9 billion in farm cash receipts in 2001 which represented 57.9% of
the total farm cash receipts (excluding program payments).
As the livestock industry expands and becomes more intensive, health and environmental
concerns over livestock manure are growing. This is particularly true when
livestock are produced in large numbers under confined conditions such as beef
feedlots and intensive hog and poultry barns. Livestock manure is perceived
as a potential source of water and air pollution. This has led to stricter
regulations on the location of livestock operations, and on the storage and
handling of manure in various provinces and municipalities.
In response to growing concerns and new regulations, producers have been increasingly
adopting farming practices and technologies aimed at reducing risks related
to manure storage and handling, while increasing utilization of nutrients in
manure.
According to Beneficial Management Practices7 (BMPs) on livestock manure storage,
an adequate system should prevent runoff, protect groundwater and surface water,
minimize odour and air pollution, provide sufficient manure storage until it
can be safely applied to the land, and minimize nutrient losses during storage.
Each type of manure storage system - whether liquid or solid/semi-solid - has
specific BMPs that attempt to reduce the risks posed to the environment. To
choose the most appropriate system, farmers need to consider several factors
such as costs, effectiveness, moisture content of manure, capacity of systems
to meet present and future needs and location of the storage system in relation
to watercourses, wells or neighbours, taking local regulations into account.
Types of manure storage systems
Manure storage systems have evolved over time as a result of the emergence
of larger and more intensive livestock farms, technological developments, and
public pressures for an environmentally responsible agricultural production.
There are a variety of options available to Canadian farmers storing livestock
manure on farms, some of which reduce risks to the environment more effectively
than others. This variety of options reflects the different types of animals
raised and production systems used. There are two basic types of manure storage
systems:
- liquid manure storage systems (such as concrete enclosures, steel tanks
and tanks fabricated from other materials, either open or with covered
top, tanks under or outside the barn, earthen basins, lined or unlined lagoons);
- solid storage systems (such as manure stored indoors with bedding or as
a pack in the barn, manure stored outside as a pile on the ground or on
a concrete pad, roofed or open, and with or without run-off containment).
The solids content of manure is generally less than 5% for liquid manure,
between 5% and 20% for semi-solid manure (including slurry) and more than 20%
for solid manure. The moisture content of as-excreted manure (urine and feces)
ranges from 75% in poultry manure to 85% in hog manure. These ratios will change
depending on the amount of water or bedding materials added to manure and depending
on whether manure has been dried. Solid manure has added bedding and will not
flow; therefore it can be stacked and handled as a bulk material. Liquid manure
has little bedding, if any, and a moisture content over 88%. Box 1 presents
a few examples of storage systems for different production and manure systems.
Box 1: Examples of storage systems for liquid and solid manure
Liquid storage systems are used predominantly for confined animals whose manure
contains a high moisture level. Thus, liquid manure storage systems are typically
found in the hog industry. Solid manure storage systems are typically found
in the beef cattle industry where animals spend a great portion of their time
outside. Solid manure storage systems are also prevalent in the dairy industry,
although liquid and semi-solid storage systems are often used in this production.
Manure storage systems on Canadian farms
Types of systems
Use of liquid and solid/semi-solid storage systems
Regional differences
Construction materials
Liquid storage capacity
Proximity of manure storage to water sources
Beneficial Management Practices (BMP)
Types of systems
FEMS results show that the majority (68.8%) of farms with livestock had solid/semi-solid
manure storage systems in 2001 (Table 1). A small proportion (7 %) of farms
used both liquid and solid systems. Of particular note is the proportion of
farms with livestock that did not have a manure storage system (24.2%). These
farms either raised animals outdoors all year round or spread manure directly
without storage.
In 2001, 16,885 farms with livestock (14 %) used a liquid manure storage system
and 83,225 (68.8%) used a solid/semi-solid manure storage system (Table 1).
 |
Farms with livestock,
by manure storage system, Canada, 2001 |
For farms that had a manure storage system, either liquid, solid or semi-solid,
those that reported hogs had the highest proportion (65.7%) of liquid manure
storage structures (Tables 3, 4 and 5). In comparison, farms reporting dairy
cattle used 31% of these structures. Almost all farms reporting beef cattle
made use of solid manure storage structures.
Use of liquid and solid/semi-solid storage systems
More significant than the number of farms is the share of animals produced
on either system. In 2001, 42.7% of dairy cattle, 6.1% of beef cattle and 85.7%
of hogs, were on a liquid manure storage system (Table 2). For beef cattle,
solid storage manure was the dominant system (Figure 1). Though a significant
proportion of the dairy cattle used one form or another of the liquid storage
systems, solid/semi-solid manure storage systems were predominant (57.3%).
For dairy and beef cattle, the single most used system remained an open pile
on the ground without a roof, which was used by 20.5% of dairy cattle and 47.1%
of beef cattle. For hogs, the single most used manure storage system was the
open tank for liquid manure (30.4%).
|
Manure storage systems,
by type of livestock, Canada, 2001 |
 |
Figure 1. Liquid and solid/semi-solid
manure storage, by type of livestock, Canada, 2001 |
Dairy cattle
In 2001, 42.7% of dairy cattle made use of liquid manure storage systems,
while 57.3% made use of solid/semi-solid manure storage systems (Table 2).
An open pile on the ground without a roof (20.5%) was the most commonly used
solid manure system, while the second most prevalent system was an open pad
with run-off containment (12.3%). The open tank (17.2%) and unlined lagoon
(11.9%) were the liquid manure storage systems most commonly used for dairy
cattle.
Beef cattle
Beef cattle are produced using a variety of production systems ranging from
small, pasture-based cow-calf operations to large intensive feedlots. Beef
producers rarely make use of liquid manure storage and handling systems because
cattle manure is relatively low in moisture content. Furthermore, beef cattle
are usually raised outdoors. Nationally, 93.9% of beef cattle on farms that
stored manure made use of a solid manure storage system in 2001 (Table 2).
The most commonly used solid manure system in beef cattle production was an
uncovered open pile on the ground (47.1%) and the second most prevalent system
was a manure pack (30.7%).
Hogs
Hog farms make use of liquid manure storage systems to the greatest extent.
It is estimated that 85.7% of hogs used a liquid manure storage system in 2001
(Table 2). Tank-based systems predominate in hog production. More than half
of the hogs were on farms that use either an open tank (30.4% of hogs), a tank
below slatted floor (21.2%) or a sealed covered tank (5.2%). About one-quarter
of hogs were produced on farms that use a lagoon system, either unlined (12.4%)
or lined (11.7%).
Farm size
Farm size is an important variable to consider when looking at manure storage
systems since larger livestock farms generally face greater social pressures
and stricter regulations. In the analysis, farms with dairy, beef and hog are
divided into small and large farms on the basis of herd size.
FEMS data presented in Table 3 show that farms with 47 or more dairy cows
and heifers had a higher proportion (35.7%) of liquid storage systems than
farms with small dairy herds (6.8%). Nevertheless, solid/semi-solid storage
is the most prevalent system on all dairy farms, regardless of their size.
For farms with small and large cattle herds, the single most used system is
an open pile on the ground without a roof (Table 4). For hog farms, the vast
majority (84.6%) of liquid storage systems were found on farms with large herds
(566 pigs or more), while 56.2% of solid storage systems were located on farms
with small herds (Table 5).
|
Manure storage systems
on dairy farms, by size of herd, Canada, 2001 |
|
Manure storage systems
on beef farms, by size of herd, Canada, 2001 |
|
Manure storage systems
on hog farms, by size of herd, Canada, 2001 |
Regional differences
There are important differences in the proportion of farms using liquid or
solid/semi-solid manure storage systems from one province to another, mostly
due to differences in the types of animals raised, livestock production intensity
and local environmental regulations. Overall, Quebec had the highest proportion
of farms with liquid manure storage systems (36.2%) due to the importance of
hog and dairy production. In contrast, Alberta and Saskatchewan had the lowest
proportion at 4.5% and 2.1%, respectively (Table 6 and Figure 2). Meanwhile,
Saskatchewan (63.1%), Alberta (55.7%), and British Columbia (51.4%) had the
lowest proportions of solid/semi-solid manure storage systems, while the Atlantic
provinces had the highest proportions, together representing 87.4% of farms
with livestock.
The provinces with the highest share of livestock farms with no storage systems
were British Columbia (43.2%), Alberta (42.6%) and Saskatchewan (35.6%). Alberta
and Saskatchewan were the two provinces that also had the largest number of
beef cattle farms in Canada. The lack of manure storage facilities could be
explained by the fact that many of the cow-calf operations are based on pasture
and rangeland, raising animals outdoors all year round. Thus, these operations
would not typically have a need for manure storage systems.
|
Farms with livestock,
by type of manure stored, Canada and provinces, 2001 |
|
Figure 2. Manure storage systems
used by farms with livestock, Canada and provinces, 2001 |
Figure 2 shows significant differences in the share of farms using liquid
and solid/semi-solid storage systems across provinces. However, when comparing
manure storage systems on the basis of livestock number and type, the differences
between provinces are not as significant (Figures 3 to 5). For example, with
the exception of British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador, dairy production
across Canada used solid/semi-solid storage systems more frequently than liquid
systems. In all provinces, beef cattle production used predominantly solid/semi-solid
storage systems, while hog production used predominantly liquid storage systems.
|
Figure 3. Manure storage systems
used for dairy cattle, Canada and provinces, 2001 |
|
Figure 4. Manure storage systems
used for dairy cattle, Canada and provinces, 2001 |
|
Figure 5. Manure storage systems
used for hogs, Canada and provinces, 2001 |
Construction materials
Several different building materials are used for the construction of liquid
manure storage facilities. These construction materials are important considerations
when assessing environmental risks associated with storage structures because
some materials provide better manure containment than others. Manure storage
systems with bottoms and sides made out of concrete were found on the majority
of farms (77.2%) that store liquid manure in Canada (Table 7). Manure storage
systems made out of compacted earth were found on 26.1% of farms that stored
liquid manure. Steel tanks for manure storage were found on 7.6% of farms that
stored liquid manure while storage systems made out of new materials, specifically
geomembrane, were reported for only 0.6% of farms with liquid storage structures.
|
Construction material
used for the bottom and sides of liquid manure storage structures,
Canada, 2001 |
With respect to covers on manure storage facilities, 75.7% of the farms with
liquid manure systems did not have covers in 2001 (Table 8). A total of 28.2%
of farms storing liquid manure had storage systems covered in a variety of
ways, thus reducing environmental risks such as odours, greenhouse gas emissions
and overflow due to heavy precipitation. Most of these farms (22.5%) had a
rigid, permanent cover on their liquid manure storage structures.
|
Type of roof or cover
on liquid manure storage structures, Canada, 2001 |
Liquid storage capacity
The capacity of liquid manure storage facilities is also an important factor
when assessing environmental risks. Greater storage capacity reduces the need
to apply manure in unsuitable conditions, such as over the winter months, and
facilitates the use of manure nutrients at a more favorable stage of crop growth.
The majority of farms with liquid manure storage had storage capacity above
250 days (Table 9). In 2001, 9,360 farms (54.9%) with liquid manure storage
systems had a storage capacity of 251 days or more. Moreover, 1,690 farms (9.9%)
had liquid systems with more than 400 days of storage capacity. Nevertheless,
a small proportion of farms (8.2%) had a storage capacity of 100 days or less.
|
Liquid manure storage
capacity, Canada, 2001 |
For hog farms in Canada, almost two-thirds (65.1 %) of the largest farms (1,595
hogs or more) had a storage capacity of more than 250 days, compared to 41.3%
for farms with less than 566 hogs, as shown in Table 10.
|
Liquid manure storage
capacity on hog farms, by size of herd, Canada, 2001 |
Proximity of manure storage to water sources
The proximity of manure storage facilities to a water source could be an important
factor in assessing environmental risks of water contamination due to run-off
and other problems related to containment. However, there are other important
factors such as the age and condition of the facilities, the type and texture
of the soil, the slope of the land and the presence of containment structures.
Generally, manure storage systems were well away from a water source, though
liquid manure storage systems are generally a little closer. The vast majority
of manure storage structures (liquid and solid/semi-solid) were located at
more than 30 metres (100 feet) from a water source (Table 11).
|
Proximity of manure
storage structures to water sources, Canada, 2001 |
Beneficial Management Practices (BMP)
The issue of proper manure storage is closely related to the adoption of BMPs.
Nationally, 52.5% of respondents with liquid manure storage systems consider
that they have fully implemented the BMPs related to manure management on their
farm (Figure 6). This compares to 26.2% for respondents with solid/semi-solid
systems.
|
Figure 6. Beneficial Management
Practices (BMP) for manure management, Canada 2001 |
Conversely, respondents on 23.3% of farms with liquid manure storage systems
reported that they were
unfamiliar with the BMPs related to manure management in their region. For
farms with solid/semi-solid storage systems, this proportion was higher (44.4%).
The results for farms with liquid systems appear to be better than the corresponding
results for farms with solid/semi-solid systems. This can be expected because
of the greater management and control procedures required for liquid manure
storage systems.
Summary
This article provides some key insights into manure storage practices being
used in 2001 on farms with livestock in Canada. A summary of the findings is
presented below.
The FEMS results show that more than two-thirds (68.8%) of farms with livestock
in Canada had solid/semi-solid storage systems in 2001, while 14% had liquid
manure storage systems. Another 24.2% of farms with livestock did not have
any type of manure storage system.
The type of storage system varies considerably by livestock type and farm
size. When comparing the share of animals rather than the share of farms, liquid
systems were used by 85.7% of hogs and by 42.7% of dairy cattle.
When farms producing beef have a manure storage system in place, they almost
exclusively use solid manure storage systems. Nationally, 93.9% of beef cattle
on these farms were raised using solid manure storage systems.
In the dairy and hog sectors, farms with large herds had a higher proportion
of liquid storage systems while farms with smaller herds had a higher proportion
of solid storage systems.
On a provincial basis, Quebec had the highest proportion of farms raising
livestock with liquid manure storage systems (36.2%). The Atlantic provinces
had the highest proportion of farms with solid/semi-solid manure storage systems
(87.4%). Alberta and Saskatchewan had the lowest proportions of liquid manure
storage systems (4.5% and 2.1% respectively) and also some of the lowest proportions
of solid/semi-solid manure storage systems (55.7% and 63.1% respectively).
The three westernmost provinces had the highest proportion of farms raising
livestock with no manure storage systems.
Several characteristics of manure storage systems – e.g., construction
materials, covers, proximity to a water source, storage capacity – are
important factors when assessing the environmental risks associated with manure
storage. The highlights of these characteristics are:
84.8% of farms with liquid manure storage in Canada reported concrete or steel
manure storage structures. Concrete was the most common construction material
used for the bottom and sides of liquid manure storage systems, it was reported
on 77.2% of farms storing liquid manure.
75.7% of farms with liquid manure storage did not have a roof or cover on
their liquid manure storage structures.
The vast majority of manure storage structures (liquid and solid/semi-solid)
were located at more than 30 metres (100 feet) from a water source.
The majority of farms with liquid manure storage had a storage capacity of
more than 250 days.
Manure storage is an important aspect of manure management. However, manure
management encompasses a broad range of farming practices, depending on specific
livestock production, financial capacity and agronomic conditions that vary
amongst regions. Other farming practices related to manure management, including
issues such as manure application and treatments will be described in the next
article of Farm Environmental Management in Canada.
1. FEMS was conducted in March 2002 by Statistics Canada
for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
FEMS provides a broad coverage of farm management practices that are related
to environmental concerns in all sectors of Canadian agriculture.Readers interested
in the survey methodology for FEMS should refer to Appendix 1.
2. This article does not examine manure storage systems
for poultry and other livestock
due to data limitations.
3. Statistics Canada, Cattle Statistics, Vol. 2, No. 1,
2003,
Catalogue no. 23-012-XIE.
4.
Statistics Canada, Hog Statistics, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003,
Catalogue no. 23-010-XIE.
5.
Statistics Canada, Production of Poultry and Eggs, 2002, Catalogue no. 23-202-XIB.
6.
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 Census of Agriculture.
7.
Beneficial Management Practice means farm production or management practice that
will contribute to reducing environmental risks or realizing environmental benefits
from agriculture.
|
