Illinois Manure Share Program

Illinois Manure Share is a free program that benefits livestock owners, gardeners, landscapers and the environment!  It is a manure exchange program that brings gardeners and landscapers searching for organic materials for use in composting or composted manure fertilizer in contact with livestock owners who have excess manure and composted manure.  

The program's goal is to remove the manure from farms that do not have the acreage to adequately utilize its nutrients on their fields or pastures.  This benefits water quality by removing excess nutrients from farms and by lowering the amount of commercial fertilizer used by gardeners and others.

HOW DOE THE PROGRAM WORKS FOR FARMS
Please call your local Extension Office to obtain a registration form for the Manure Share Farm List.  The form takes only a few moments to fill out.  You can also register your farm on-line at http:// ***************.

HOW DOE THE PROGRAM WORKS FOR GARDENERS OR LANDSCAPERS
1) Get the Manure Share List:  Call your Extension Office or look at the website for a Manure Share List.  Gardeners or landscapers who request the list are provided with the phone number of participating farmers in their county.
2) What do you want: Review the list to find the farm that most closely meets your needs (type of bedding, loading assistance, etc.) 
3) Manure Mechanics:  Decide how much manure you need.  Decide how you can haul it safely.  Make arrangements to have a pick-up or other vehicle available.
4) Arranging a Pick-up time:  Contact the farm to obtain information on where and when they can pick up the manure or compost. 
5) Composting the Manure.  Participating livestock owners are encouraged to fully compost their manure. However, some farms may have only fresh manure available.  You are encouraged to compost the manure in your own compost pile prior to using it. There are risks to you and your garden if the manure is not composted.   Your Extension Office has numerous resources available to help you start composting and using manure in home compost systems
6) Using the Compost:  Once the manure is composted, use it in your gardens and landscape as recommended by University of Illinois Extension.