Vegetative Treatment Areas

Unique system helps farmers use feedlot run-off to fertilize fields
By Victoria Hatterman/Daily Sun staff writer
Friday, Jun 06, 2008 - 09:49:39 am CDT

Their goal is to minimize their risk to the environment by installing vegetative treatment systems to handle livestock waste and the effect is cleaner drinking water for the state.

Several farmers in Southeast Nebraska have been working with Chris Henry at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension to set up these Vegetative Treatment Systems as part of the Livestock Producer Environmental Assistance Project.

With aid from the Nebraska Environmental Trust grant, two brothers in the Adams area, Wes and Myron Dorn, are working towards a more environmentally friendly cattle operation. Wes said that he wanted to do something like this to ensure that the operation would be viable for future generations to use. Read More

Vegetative treatment areas are proving to be a very successful way to utilize the runoff from feedlots. The valuable nutrients in the runoff are consumed by the vegetation which in turn produces an excellent feed source that can be harvested and fed back to the livestock. This is a great example of how agriculture is continually improving our methods of raising livestock.