What Nutrients Are in Cattle Manure?
The nutrients in cattle manure that are beneficial to plant growth are: • Nitrogen • Phosphorus • Potassium • Sulfur • Carbon The availability and concentration of these nutrients change through the composting process. What’s Happened to the Nutrients? Nitrogen If a carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio of 25:1 is used the amount of ammonia released to the atmosphere is reduced compared to a lower C:N ratio because the carbon bonds to the nitrogen. Even though some ammonia is lost the volume of the manure is reduced which causes the end product to contain approximately the same percentage of nitrogen as the raw manure had. Carbon Microorganisms use carbon for energy and growth thus decreasing the amount of carbon. Initially carbon bonds to nitrogen to decrease the potential of ammonia losses and the remaining carbon is readily available for the microorganisms. The C:N ratio is reduced to approximately 10:1 throughout the process. Phosphorus Phosphorus is a non-volatile nutrient which means it
