Table 19. Typical Composition of Manures and Other Organic Fertilizer Sources.

Manures vary greatly in their nutrient content. The kind of feed used, the percentage and type of litter or bedding, the moisture content, and the age and degree of rotting or drying all modify the composition. In the case of the commercially dried pulverized manures, some nitrogen is lost in the process. The following data are representative analyses from widely scattered reports.

  Moisture % N Approximate Composition (lb/ton)
P2O5
K2O
Fresh Manure with Bedding or Litter        
Cow

86

11

4

10

Duck

61

22

29

10

Goose

67

22

11

10

Chicken

73

22

22

10

Hog

87

11

6

9

Horse

80

13

5

13

Sheep

70

20

15

21

Steer or feed yard

85

12

7

11

Turkey

74

26

14

10

Dried Commercial Products        
Cow

21

20

20

38

Hen

13

31

35

40

Hog

10

45

42

20

Rabbit

16

26

31

32

Sheep

10

32

25

41

Stockyard

17

25

24

42

Alfalfa hay

10

50

11

50

Alfalfa straw

7

28

7

36

Barley hay

9

23

11

33

Barley straw

10

12

5

32

Bean Straw

11

20

6

25

Beggarweed hay

9

50

12

56

Buckwheat straw

11

14

2

48

Clover hay
   Alyce
   Bur
   Crimson
   Ladino
   Sweet


11
8
11
12
8


35
60
45
60
60

 
 
21
11
13
12

 
 
70
67
67
38

Cowpea hay

10

60

13

36

Cowpea straw

9

20

5

38

Field pea hay

11

28

11

30

Horse bean hay

9

43

   
Lezpedeza hay

11

41

8

22

Lezpedeza straw

10

21

   
Oat hay

12

26

9

20

Oat straw

10

13

5

33

Ryegrass hay

11

26

11

25

Rye hay

9

21

8

25

Rye straw

7

11

4

22

Sorghum stover, Hegari

13

18

4

 
Soybean hay

12

46

11

20

Soybean straw

11

13

6

15

Sudan grass hay

11

28

12

31

Sweet corn fodder

12

30

8

24

Velvet bean hay

7

50

11

53

Vetch hay
   common
   hairy

 
11
12

 
43
62

 
15
15

 
53
47

Wheat hay

10

20

8

35

Wheat straw

8

12

3

19

Miscellaneous Organic Materials        
Bat guano  

200

80

40

Blood  

260

40

20

Bone meal, raw  

60

440

 
Bone meal, steamed  

20

300

 
Castor bean meal  

100

40

20

Cottonseed meal  

120

60

30

Fish meal  

200

120

 
Garbage tankage  

50

40

20

Peanut meal  

140

30

24

Sewage sludge  

30

25

8

Sewage sludge, act.  

120

60

4

Soybean meal  

140

24

30

Tankage  

140

200

30



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