Contributions of information technology for livestock effluent spreading management

Abstract

Management of land application of livestock manure implies the collection of an important amount of data. Our paper examines the different electronic on board systems available for this purpose. Spatial information regarding the waste management plan can be provided by the means of a GPS. When dealing with solid manure, the main difficulties will occur for determination of spread quantities. For liquid manure, determination of slurry dilution will be the major difficulty. We have established a data collection system which may constitute an integrated book-recording management. This system may be useful at different levels. The field level will constitute the basic element of an information system. This information system can be dedicated to a farm or to a specific geographic area. Information technology may enable the management of a common databank. A multipartner geographical information system implies the use of a common data dictionary and exchange formats.