Manure is fertiliser you already paid for. The trick is getting the right amount on the right field. Good manure spreader nutrient management is mostly about knowing your rate and spreading it evenly. For spreader types and sizing, see the manure spreader guide.
Step 1: Test your manure
Nutrient content changes with animal type, bedding, storage and moisture. Send a sample to a lab once or twice a year. You can’t plan a rate without knowing what’s in it.
Step 2: Set a target rate per field
Work out what the crop needs, take off what the soil already has, and let manure cover what it can. Your local agronomist or extension office can help with the numbers.
Step 3: Calibrate the spreader
- Weigh a full load or use load cells.
- Spread it and measure the area.
- Weight divided by area gives your rate.
- Change floor speed or ground speed to hit your target.
Full steps in manure spreader calibration.
Step 4: Spread it evenly
Uneven spreading wastes the nutrients. You get heavy strips that lodge and light strips that starve.
- Set driving width to the spreader’s true pattern.
- Overlap passes properly.
- Keep floor speed steady.
The LEO 80 Series has hydraulic variable speed floor control for 5 to 30+ tons per acre and a 25 to 50 ft spread width.
Step 5: Keep records
Write down field, date, load count and rate. With the optional Athene ISOBUS spread rate controller and load cells on the 80 Series (8012 to 8022), you get GPS as-applied maps and the floor speed adjusts to hold your target rate.
Timing and weather
- Don’t spread on frozen or saturated ground.
- Keep buffers from waterways.
- Follow your local rules on timing and setbacks.
Where the money comes back
Even spreading at a known rate lets you cut bought nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium where manure covers it. It also cuts runoff risk.
A simple field record sheet
Keep it simple enough that you actually fill it in:
| Field | Date | Material | Loads | Rate | Notes |
|---|
Write the manure test results at the top of the sheet each season so you can work out nutrients applied.
Spreading plan by season
- After harvest: good time to spread on stubble before cover crops.
- Before planting: spread and work in where you can to cut nitrogen losses.
- On grazing and hay ground: lighter rates, spread evenly to avoid burning.
Avoid frozen, snow covered or saturated ground.
Common nutrient mistakes
- Spreading the same fields every year because they’re close to the yard.
- Guessing the rate.
- Ignoring the manure test.
- Spreading too wide and leaving light strips.
FAQ
### How do I know my application rate?
Weigh a load, spread it, measure the area and divide weight by area.
### Can a spreader adjust the rate automatically?
The LEO 80 Series can be ordered with the optional Athene ISOBUS controller and load cells, which adjust floor speed to hold your target.
### How often should I test manure?
At least once a year, and whenever bedding or feed changes.
Even spreading is the cheapest fertiliser you’ll buy
Most farms already own the manure. The cost is in hauling and spreading it. If half of it ends up too heavy on some strips and too light on others, you lose value in both places: the heavy strips waste nutrients and can lodge the crop, and the light strips still need bought fertiliser. A spreader that’s calibrated and driven at the right width gets the full value out of every load.
That’s why spread width matters. The LEO 80 Series vertical beaters spread 25 to 50 ft wide, so set your driving width from a real pattern check, not a guess. See manure spreader spread width.
Working with your agronomist
Bring three things to your agronomist: your manure test, your soil tests, and your spreader’s calibrated rate. With those, they can tell you how many loads per hectare or acre each field needs and what to top up with bought fertiliser.
A final word
Good nutrient management also protects your neighbours and your water. Even spreading at the right rate, with buffers from streams and ditches, cuts the chance of runoff after rain. Keeping records shows you did it right if anyone ever asks. And on rented ground, records help show the landowner how the fields are being looked after.
Next step
See the LEO rear discharge and side discharge spreaders, or find a dealer.
Learn more about LEO Agriculture and our full line of feed mixers and manure spreaders.
