Study seeks to find out what’s in feedlot runoff

A study is underway at Iowa State University to get a better handle on what’s in the runoff from Iowa cattle feedlots. I-S-U Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering Department Professor Jeff Lorimor says the study will try to determine how many nutrients are in the solids in the runoff. Farmers will soon have to implement nutrient management plans for the manure from the feedlots.Lorimor says there haven’t been any real studies of feedlot runoff since the 1970s, as most research has focused on confinement operations.Lorimor says by the end of the study in a year, they hope to have some good information cattle producers can use to manage their feedlot manure.