yesterday I just spent an hour on the phone with one of the owner/scientists of that company, with one topic being the loss of N and ammonium. When my lab tests come back with the percentage/lbs of ammonium stated--------first year portion........his position is that I will most likely lose at least half to most of that percentage/lbs UNLESS it gets incorporated pronto.........which is within 24 hours as a rule of thumb. His comment was that I could expect to save half if incorporated..........even with all of the handling we do. Now, if the comment is that one will only lose a minimal amount if not incorporated...............then the minimal amount can only mean that there is a minimal amount of ammonium in the product to be spread...........such as in the event of the product being, say, composted, where our tests will show maybe 1-2lbs ammonium vs 22-24 organic. It has not been stated as to what the analyses are of the products discussed. The raw manure I have had tested seems to have a high percentage of ammonium, as compared to organic.................and therefore I factor in that loss since I ASSUME something will cause that manure to not get timely incorporated...........and therefore I can only rely on the organic N to stay. Maybe the farmer who has just tons of manure to waste might not care about the incorporation procedure to salvage as much N as possible..................but if one is buying that manure/N, that potential loss factor gets valuable really quickly. Midwest Labs has been around for a while, and coupled with the other publications of a widespread number of authors.................I'll continue incorporating. |