CategoriesCoco Coir Bedding Dairy Farm Horse Bedding Lifestyle Tips & Tricks
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3 Factors of Horse Manure Management

Compost is basically a biological process that converts organic matter into fine particle humus. It involves a series of decomposition of microorganisms, digesting of organic matters. In this case, the organic matter is Horse Manure, Feeds and Beddings.  

Composting helps minimize the waste-maximise microbial activity, thus balancing the farm ecosystem, tending hygiene and ensuring horses’ health. 

On an average, every horse produces 30 lbs of feces and 2.5 gal. of urine along with spoiled bedding of about 10-12 lb is disposed every day. All up together, this accounts almost 50-65 lbs/day. 

The crisis of waste management starts with 5 important reasons that depicts the need for proper management of manure, popularly known as Horse Manure Management.

The main aim of Horse Manure Management is to keep each and every aspect of manure in check.

Originally, Horse Manure varies from horse to horse, feeds provided and type of bedding used, and is best if sorted early when manure produced is measured on weekly routine.  

These manures are the valuable and un-utilised resource that mobilise large amount of soil amendment and plant nourishing fertilizers.

Composting is one such method deployed in Horse Manure Management, and is feasible-affordable for every barn/farm owner. 

Composting enriches gardens, pastures by improving soil texture, aeration and water retention. Also, compost mix helps increase soil fertility, control erosion and balance pH. 

However, key features need to be ensured for proper composting and a good final product.

Temperature

Temperature is one of the most important indicator of how well your composting is taking place. The temperature is a fluctual result of airflow in and out of the manure pile. If the airflow is at optimal level, higher the temperature, greater the heat generated.

Try flipping your pile upside down, to distribute heat evenly throughout the massive pile. An even distribution of hot air will help suppress pathogens, fly larvae and weed seed/egg and accelerate the speed of decomposition. 

Although, a vigilant temperature needs to be maintained in order to carry out decomposition steady and swift. 

More generally, a lower temperature range of 50-110oF is required at initial stages of decomposition, later 110-160oF to break down organic matter, kill weeds, pathogens and increase microbial activity as they are hyper-thermal activists. Over a period of weeks or month, the temperature gradually drops to ambient temperature for the decomposition to settle down.

Either way, overheating immobilises many beneficial organisms or falling behind will hinder decomposition rate. 

Lower the surrounding temperature; lower will be the composting rate. At the times of Winter, it takes 3-6 month for a normal compost to happen while it only takes 1-2 months for a pile to turn compost during Summer. 

Note: Always keep piles upto 3-4 feets high and square base of 5-7 feets for building up a necessary temperature pressure within it. Get a Compost thermometer at local stores to get exact compost temperature every few days. 

Moisture content

Moisture Management is necessarily a priority task while composting. An apt moisture will bring a perfect compost mix else it leads to odor, slow decomposition, and hard to achieve high temperature. 

Either, the lack of moisture will cause composting organisms to dry out and prevent pile heat up. 

There are severe ways to make sure that your pile is having sufficient moisture or not. 

One, you can manually check by squeezing the pile of innermost layers and see through it. If it is damp enough to hold moisture or too wet that it dries out after squeezing leaving behind dry lump. Then make a precautionary moist supply. 

Two, cover your pile using a tarp sheet to prevent it from getting excessively wet in the rainy season or too dry in hot days of summer.  This will also help limit flies, weeds and sweeping nutrients off the pile.

Three, frequent watering will help balance water hold, as it evaporates due to heat and airflow. Try turning the pile either side to provide a significant amount of water to it. 

Also, you may select the right location for your pile build, making it more convenient for clean-carry out-use. A right place, which is high enough to drain excess water or pour additional water when required, thus moisture maintained. 

Pile composition

Often the compost quality depends upon Pile Composition. Pile material provides essential nutrients, and vital decomposing proportion for compost, it renders ‘Carbon for Energy and Nitrogen for Growth’. The microorganisms that are turned into compost are fueled by Carbon and Nitrogen. 

Nitrogen is mainly found in manure and Carbon is found in bedding material, their proper proportion ensures successful composting. An ideal C:N proportion is estimated between 25:1 to 30:1, where carbon is in larger numbers. 

More precisely, Carbon is primarily released by carbon-rich material like straw, wood chips, shavings, sawdust and leaves while animal-byproducts like manure and feeds are rich in Nitrogen. 

Avoid using more bedding into pile build-up, more the bedding (carbon); longer the time for compost completion. Alternatively, if you’re using Coco bedding for your horse, you can reduce carbon pile up in your compost and reduce decompose after effects. 

Note: Compost is combustible, keep the compost pile away from housing, avoid smoking near the compost pile. 

A finished compost will reduce to half its original size, smells good and be like a rich soil. 

CategoriesDairy Farm Horse Bedding Lifestyle
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5 Reasons for Horse Manure Management

Composting is a best way of manure and waste management to avoid potential threats to horse lives and deformation of manure piles. 

A slight mismanagement of manure pile will affect, 

  1. Horses which are gazing over its own manure be infected by worm seeds/eggs,
  2. Flies, pests and their odor plunges all around surround neighbourhood,
  3. The pile of horse and bedding waste is insightful and decrease barn captivity,
  4. If the manure were too soggy and ran down to the water source, it causes serious water quality issues, 
  5. Higher C:N ratio of manure pile will turn out good for none.

It is estimated that around 25 cubic yards of manure and bedding is being generated every year from each barn. It gives off stingy, foul odor and is doomed to bring a health crisis if not attended in time. 

It also contains harmful disease-causing pathogens, parasites that can easily pollute water systems, so it has to be off-limited within 50feets away from the drainage point, and treated tactfully and consistently. 

Manure pile

Composting plays as a best resolute for manure-waste management, and is believed to be ecologically friendly. The worth of composting strikes as it is, 

  1. The ideal material for creating quality compost for garden or pasture,
  2. Composting breaks down microbial bacteria and fungi into nourishment source,
  3. Compost manure decomposes into nutrient rich and odorless supplement,
  4. It is time, space and cost efficient to compost your manure at stall,
  5. It helps control temperature and odor of manure pile.

Basically, manure(feces, bedding, urine) consists of fertilizer nutrients like nitrogen(N), potassium(K2O) and phosphorus(P2O5) that are essential for plant growth.

A compost horse manure makes a rich source of nutrient as a soil amendment. It infuses micro and macronutrients that works as the time passes and also provides beneficial bacteria and fungi for soil nurture. Studies show that a manure compost makes the plant healthier and disease-resistant. 

In simple terms, composting takes place in Heating Phase and Curing Phases.

Compost pile

Heating phase comprises bacterial breakdown to generate heat of temperature about 130oF that lasts for a month together to sterilize the weed seeds and form primary plant fertiliser. 

Curing phase is held in lower temperature that burns fungal, worm residue in compost bin and takes upto 3-4 months after heat phase to take down nitrogen and other organic compounds under control (stable). Gardeners’ most refer to cured compost as it contains more fermented nitrogen and provides additional fertilizing result. 

After all these, the compost you prepared can be used personally or be sold in the market. Manure compost has quite a value in the sale !!

CategoriesCoir Products Lifestyle
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Coir Products- An Ecological Aid

Coir Netting- As Soil Stabilizer

A highly durable, long lasting organic netting is the key requirement for any customers to opt for, where EcoNet Coir Netting is in the lead, that renders an optimal surface protection and longevity stay.

They are economical eco-friendly, 100% biodegradable, easy installable netting available.

Coco netting are fabricated by entwining of single or double yarns woven by looms into Coir Net, that are often woven along with straw mulch.

It is ranked among the reliable Erosion Control products, by pertaining

  •  Stability in the areas of high fluctuation like bank, slope, hill, wetlands while intercepting the run down water establishing a dense plantation.
  • Forms a wind and moisture barrier by enclosing large surfaces of high flow/ slow grow area, in inhibiting drying of top soil and seeds.
  • By adding the underlying Coir filter, it further provides robust surface protection.
  • Its strong, flexible, durable nature enabled vegetation reinforcement.
  • By an expanded life span (3-5 years) it equips slow nurture of vegetation.
  • Their phenomenal decaying yields in flourishing of top soil. 

Also will dissipate water currents, intakes excess of solar radiation, thus presenting as Soil-bioengineering tool. In ecological means, it helps lower the Carbon footprint in that area.

All put together, it is a tailor-made product to pique an interest in consumers.

Coir Log- For Soil Amendment 

A naturally extracted fibrous log is 100% environmental friendly and self-degradable.

The origin of coco logs is driven from an enclosure of intertwined braids of compact coconut coir (Coir Web) by an exterior coco mesh Netting.

Coco logs are favorable for geo bio-engineering purposes.

In Restoration Projects, coco logs are mainly deployed in the region of sloppy landscapes, in-touch areas with waves and water current (highly unstable) through establishing a new wetland plantation.

They form effective Construction Check points, in exhibiting superior tensile strength, high durability while retaining substrate and filtrating debris.

It is a strongly in-led, flexible log employed in various circumstances, depicted as

  •  Efficient in Erosion Controlling, as far as holding the soil intact, in the means of establishing dense plantations in lane by building up a wider contour.
  • While imparting an unparalleled support for surrounding vegetation by providing nourishment, creating microclimate for germination of seeds.
  • It is permeable to air and water making a beneficiary bone for aqua-terrestrial species as an easy survival.
  •  Also shielding the surrounding wild inhabitants against water-borne catastrophe.

Coco logs are tailor-made for their superior long lasting, about 2-5years, unhurried degrading nature, for facilitating vegetation growth as compost fertilizer.