Compost & Manure Testing services offered by Exova include: Nutrients in Compost & Manure, Microbiology testing, Compost Characteristics, Metals testing. Knowing what’s in your compost or manure is an increasingly important part of environmental farm management and nutrient use planning. Manures and composts can be highly variable in their nutrient levels and differ significantly from book values. Determining the composition of your compost or manure is an important step in optimizing its use. Composting is an increasingly popular way to manage manure and other solid waste forms. Compost testing can provide the user with valuable information on the nutrient content, presence of microbiological pathogens and maturity of the product. Compost produced for sale must meet strict quality quidelines. Exova's compost testing packages are designed to address the management and regulatory needs of both large and small composting facilities.
Packages containing various combinations of the following analyses are available to help you characterize your compost.
Nutrients in Compost:
- Total N
- Nitrate
- Ammonium
- Phosphorus
- Potassium
- Total S
- Magnesium
- Calcium
- Sodium
- Total Carbon
- Iron
- Zinc
- Boron
- Copper
- Manganese
Microbiology Testing:
- Salmonella
- Total and Fecal Coliform
- Standard Plate Count
Compost Characteristics:
- pH
- Electrical Conductivity
- Organic Matter
- Ash
- C/N Ratio
- Foreign Matter
- Particle Size Analysis
- SAR
Metals testing in Compost:
- Aluminum
- Cadmium
- Molybdenum
- Lead
- Mercury
Manure Management and Environmental Farm Plans form an integral part of sound environmental stewardship.
Managing nutrients and preventing negative impacts are necessary to environmental sustainability. Nitrate and phosphorus can have negative impacts on surface and groundwater. Regulations and recommendations have been put in place to limit negative environmental impact from agricultural activities such as intensive livestock operations. Matching nutrient inputs to plant use and matching soil types to agricultural practices are all a part of sound environmental stewardship.
Monitoring and managing the levels of nutrients in the soil and other soil quality characteristics is important for good stewardship as well as good agronomy.
The suggested Best Management Practices for environmental farm planning include soil testing and matching nutrient applications to crop requirements. As nutrients in manure alter soil nutrient levels, one should also consider manure testing prior to application.