STERLING, Ohio — When it comes to disposing of poultry litter, farmers normally spread it on their fields as fertilizer. The litter, which is a mixture of mostly manure and bedding, is a huge boost to crops.

Now, researchers from the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have a prototype farm implement that slashes nutrient runoff and bacterial contamination from poultry litter by burying the material in a series of parallel bands a few inches below the soil surface rather than on top of it. "The results of the practice are greatly reduced nitrogen and phosphorus losses and E. coli concentrations in rain-caused runoff from the fields," said Tom Way, part of the team of researchers involved with the implement.

"Crop yields, meanwhile, are the same or sometimes higher. Excessive nutrient runoff from farm fields, especially of phosphorus, is a cause of the algal blooms plaguing Lake Erie, Grand Lake St. Marys and other Ohio water bodies."

Farm field runoff also can carry E. coli bacteria from manure into lakes and streams. Some E. coli types can cause illness in people.

The new implement, which can apply four bands of poultry litter at once and has adjustable spacings for those bands, is an advancement on a single-band applicator the team previously developed.

A new invention? Not exactly. In 2010, researchers at ARS invented the Poultry Litter Subsurfer with the idea of applying dry poultry litter below the surface. The goal was to prevent runoff in five Chesapeake Bay states: Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York.

According to Way, the latest invention has the benefits of reducing odor and providing more accessible nutrients to crops.

The applicator creates four trenches with adjustable spacing from 10 to 40 inches apart.

"It’s like a two-state press wheel system," Way says. "A trencher with a leading 18-inch coulter creates a shallow trench. Litter falls into the trench, and a first set of 12-inch wheels covers the litter with a couple inches of soil. A second set of dual eight-inch wheels presses down over the litter. The rate of application can be changed by how it’s metered out of the hopper or by the speed of the tractor pulling the applicator."

For more information about the applicator, contact Thomas Way at 334-844-4753 or at tom.way@ars.usda.gov