This winter has been unusually warm which has led to an extraordinary amount of mud, and anyone who has animals and an unstabilized feeding area is probably tired of dealing with the slop.

A stabilized winter feeding area or concrete heavy use area is an excellent way to deal with winter feeding.

These pads not only clean up muddy barnyards but also promote better animal health and provide the ability to collect and spread manure, which can greatly reduce fertilizer use.

Our office provides financial incentives and technical support to deal with heavy use areas. There are several steps, however, that need to be completed before construction, and now is an excellent time to get the process started.

Developing a nutrient management plan, which details the nutrient production on the farm and utilizing soil tests and crop rotations, allows for the best way to distribute manure by giving a detailed spreading schedule and listing the nutrients yet needed.

This plan would also list BMPs, or best management practices, associated with the animals to address manure handling.

A site visit from an engineer either from our office or the private sector would help evaluate the barnyard and manure handling facilities to determine the best solution for winter feeding. This result would size and locate an area for feeding and manure storage along with a cost estimate.

With these documents in hand producers can apply for funding through EQIP to construct the proposed practices.

Concrete heavy use areas provide the ability to scrape and store all manure generated on the pad, allowing the manure to be spread on fields when conditions are ideal which cuts down on waste hay and reduces feeding costs.

Anyone interested in learning more about constructing a heavy use area or applying for funding should contact the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service at 724-482-4800, Ext. 3, to see what might work.

Andy Gaver is a conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Butler County.