Managing Soil Nutrients in Backgrounding Beef Feedlot Site. a Field Scale Study.

Soil nutrient concentrated areas in animal production sites are of greater environmental concern. Unless properly managed, nutrients from such areas can cause soil contamination and near surface/ground water pollution. We studied soil NH₄-N, P, Ca, Mg, Cu, and Zn concentrations and spatial distribution across backgrounding beef feedlot site from feeder area to adjoining grass area. We studied the conditions while the animals were on-site for 8 m and two years after removing animals, when manure from feeder area (FD) was harvested just after removing animals and two hay crops removed in the second year. Animal removal, manure harvesting in FD, and hay cropping on rested site lowered soil P  in the FD area from 3635.8 to 1692.9 mg kg^-1; NH4-N from 149.3 to 11.3 mg kg^-1; Mg from 2091.0 to 1454.4 mg kg^-1; Cu from 4.5 to 3.1mg kg^-1 and Zn from 52.8 to 35.8 mg kg^-1. Management practices did not induce drastic nutrient concentration reduction in grass area. However, results indicate that imposing management practices for two years shrink the size of nutrient concentrated area. Site resting, FD manure harvesting, and hay cropping on rested beef backgrounding site helps reduce focus area that required further remediation.