ARS Develops Manure Nutrient Analyzer

July 19, 2006 — 

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) chemist James Reeves has developed a portable machine capable of analyzing the nitrogen and water content in manure samples.

The machine operates off a car battery and is small enough, about 20 pounds, to be used on the farm. It allows livestock producers to quantify the amount of nitrogen contained in a 2 tablespoon sample of manure prior to land application. Testing takes only about a minute and requires no sample preparation or chemicals. The machine utilizes near-infrared light to measure the amount of nitrogen present in the sample.

This information could then be used to accurately apply effluent to pastures and crop land thus minimizing the risk of over-application and possible runoff. Reeves continues to work on refining his design to make the instrument even smaller and to develop a method to analyze phosphorus content as well. Ultimately, the goal is to get the machine small enough to be carried by hand and capable of measuring nutrient levels by just pointing at manure samples.

Source:
Agricultural Research magazine, Shedding Light on Manure Nutrients July, 2006