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TECHNICAL REPORTS

Waste Management

Bedding and Seasonal Effects on Chemical and Bacterial Properties of Feedlot Cattle Manure

^a Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, P.O. Box 3000, Lethbridge, AB, Canada T1J 4B1
^b Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Lethbridge, AB, Canada T1J 4C7
^c Department of Biological Sciences, 4401 University Drive, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada T1K 3M4
^d Department of Renewable Resources, General Services Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2H1
^e Chinook Regional Health Authority, 960 19th St. S., Lethbridge, AB, Canada T1J 1W5

^* Corresponding author (millerjj{at}agr.gc.ca).

Received for publication September 17, 2002. Nutrients, soluble salts, and pathogenic bacteria in feedlot-pen manure have the potential to cause pollution of the environment. A three-year study (1998–2000) was conducted at a beef cattle (Bos taurus) feedlot in southern Alberta, Canada to determine the effect of bedding material [barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) straw versus wood chips] and season on the chemical and bacterial properties of pen-floor manure. Manure was sampled for chemical content (N, P, soluble salts, electrical conductivity, and pH) and populations of four groups of bacteria (Escherichia coli, total coliforms, and total aerobic heterotrophs at 27 and 39°C). More chemical parameters of manure were significantly (P 0.05) affected by season (SO₄, Na, Mg, K, Ca, sodium adsorption ratio [SAR], total C, NO₃–N, NH₄–N, total P, and available P) than by bedding (K, pH, total C, C to N ratio, NH₄–N, and available P). Bedding had no significant (P > 0.05) effect on the four bacterial groups whereas season affected all four groups. Numbers of E. coli and total coliforms (TC) were significantly higher by 1.72 to 2.02 log₁₀ units in the summer than the other three seasons, which was consistent with a strong positive correlation of E. coli and TC with air temperature. The low ratio of bedding to manure in the pens was probably the major cause of the lack of significant bedding effects. Bedding material and seasonal timing of cleaning feedlot pens and land application of manure may be a potential tool to manage nutrients, soluble salts, and pathogens in manure.

Abbreviations: EC, electrical conductivity • SAR, sodium adsorption ratio • TAH, total aerobic heterotrophs • TC, total coliforms

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