Manure Distribution Research Articles

Temporal and Spatial Trends in Livestock Manure Discharge and Water Pollution Risk in Chaohu Lake Basin

Assessments of the spatiotemporal distribution of livestock manure and its risk to the watershed are important to prevent water pollution. In this work, the spatiotemporal livestock manure distribution and its risk for the Chaohu lake basin were evaluated based on the excretion coefficient method and ArcGIS technology. In detail, the amounts of livestock manure and its associated pollutants, including chemical oxygen demand (COD), five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), ammonia (NH4+-N), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP), were calculated from 2009 to 2019. Then, the diffusion concentrations of COD, BOD5, NH4+-N, TN, and TP and the water pollution risk index from livestock manure were estimated and predicted for the Chaohu lake basin. The results indicated that the mean amount of livestock manure had reached 1.04 × 107 t in the Chaohu lake basin in the studied decade. The COD, BOD5, NH4+-N, TN, and TP from livestock manure in Feixi and Feidong contributed 54.26% and 54.40% of the total in the whole basin. These results demonstrate the potential pollution risk of livestock manure for the Chaohu lake basin. Moreover, the diffusion concentrations of COD, BOD5, NH4+-N, TN, and TP for the lake basin were from highest to lowest as follows: Feixi > Feidong > Chaohu > Lujiang > Wuwei > Shucheng > Hefei. The water pollution risk index was more than 20 in Feixi and Feidong, indicating that these areas were heavily affected by local livestock manure. The water pollution risk index will be approximately 18 for the Chaohu lake basin in 2030, implying that the Chaohu lake watershed will suffer moderate pollution from animal manure. These results provide scientific support for policymakers to enhance manure utilization efficiency and control livestock manure loss, causing water eutrophication in Chaohu lake basin or other similar watersheds.

Impact of manure injection on spatial variability in soil nitrate, carbon, and small grain growth

AbstractManure injection alters the spatial distribution of manure by concentrating it in a subsurface band which can lead to differential soil nutrient distribution and growth in small grains. This study assessed the effects of fall manure applications on soil NO3‐N, active carbon, and small grain growth compared to broadcasting and a no manure control. Soil samples were taken to represent whole plot soil means for all treatments, while in‐band (IB) and between‐band (BB) soil samples were taken in injected plots to assess nutrient spatial distribution after injection. Small grain forage samples were also taken IB and BB to assess the effects of manure injection on small grain growth. Soil samples were analyzed for NO3‐N, permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC), and carbon mineralization (C‐min), while small grain dry matter (DM) yield and forage quality parameters were measured from plant samples. Manure injection did not result in any differences between whole plot injection and broadcast soil NO3‐N concentrations. However, injection resulted in initially elevated soil NO3‐N concentrations IB compared to BB. There were no differences in soil POXC or C‐min under manured versus unmanured soils, nor between IB and BB samples. Manure injection did not increase small grain DM yield or forage quality compared to broadcasting, nor were these measurements altered IB and BB. Even though manure injection altered the spatial distribution of soil NO3‐N, it did not affect soil C‐min, POXC, or small grain growth under the conditions seen in this study. Therefore, differential small grain growth and quality is likely not a concern under injection.

Spatiotemporal distribution, environmental risk and carbon emission reduction potential of livestock manure in Shaanxi Province, China

Spatiotemporal distribution, environmental risk and carbon emission reduction potential of livestock manure in Shaanxi Province, China

Animal manure in the context of renewable energy and value-added products: A review

Animal manure has a complex structure and can be considered a lignocellulosic material. Manure management generates greenhouse emissions, mainly N2O and CH4. Currently, efforts are being made for the sustainable use of animal manure to obtain bioenergy and value-added products. This work shows thermochemical and biochemical methods for manure valorization and proposes strategies to mitigate the inherent environmental problems, thus helping to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly SDGs 7, 9, 12, and 13. The physicochemical properties and high heating values (HHV) of different types of manure are presented and discussed. The HHV follows the order of cow≈horse>sheep>poultry>pigmanure. Thermochemical processes such as pyrolysis, gasification, and combustion were studied. The operating conditions of anaerobic digestion were also studied. Physical, chemical, thermochemical, and biochemical (e.g., with microbial consortia and enzymes) pre-treatments were analyzed to improve the performance of the above processes. Limitations and obstacles in technological applications were identified, such as manure distribution, lack of government incentives, or the presence of antibiotics in manure. Animal manure has a clear potential to produce organic acids, biomaterials, biofuels, and bioenergy. So, bioprocesses or biorefineries using this biomass as a feedstock may be promising in the near future in the context of the bio-economy, helping to increase the production of renewable energy, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, fostering innovation that adds value to the main livestock activities that generate manure, and guaranteeing sustainable consumption and production modalities that allow mitigating the effects caused by the current treatment of manure.

Revolutionizing Farming: Mobile Application for Seamless Manure Distribution among Farmers

Revolutionizing Farming: Mobile Application for Seamless Manure Distribution among Farmers

Survey of farm-gate N and P balances on arable and dairy organic and conventional farms in Sweden—basis for improved management

About half of all N and P loads to Swedish waters originate from agriculture and must decrease to reach environmental goals. Studying nutrient management at farm level can provide an understanding of nutrient recycling and the risk of losses. In a survey of organic and conventional dairy and arable farms in three southern counties of Sweden, farm-gate N and P balances and N use efficiency (NUE) were analysed. Crop distribution differed significantly between organic and conventional farms, with organic dairy farms having higher proportions of ley and pulse crops and organic arable farms having a much higher proportion of N-fixing crops than corresponding conventional farms. Conventional dairy and arable farms had on average 70% and 40% higher N surplus than corresponding organic farms. Farm-gate P surplus was larger on conventional dairy farms and much larger on organic arable farms, mainly due to purchase of P-rich organic fertilisers. Organic dairy farms had higher NUE than corresponding conventional farms, but the opposite was true for arable farms. However, in the southernmost county Skåne, where soil fertility and yield potential are high, NUE was similar on all arable farms. Total inputs of N and P were positively correlated with N and P surpluses, especially on dairy farms. Improved manure and crop residue management, reduced use of purchased mineral N fertilisers coupled to more uniform within-farm distribution of manure, use of catch crops, intercropping and organic fertilisers with appropriate N:P ratio are measures that can reduce farm nutrient surpluses and improve nutrient management on both organic and conventional farms.

Mitigation Actions Scenarios Applied to the Dairy Farm Management Systems.

The environmental impacts of the dairy industry, particularly global warming, are heavily influenced by milk production. Thus, there is an urgent need for farm-level actions and opportunities for improvement, implying mitigation strategies. The aim of this paper is to investigate five possible mitigation actions at the dairy farm and which one the farmers were willing to adopt: management and distribution of livestock manure and fertilizers, anaerobic manure treatment, optimization of the herd composition, feed quality, and heat recovery. A life cycle assessment was conducted on 63 farms using the product environmental footprint approach. The latter was divided into four quartiles, from which four representative farms were selected. For each farm, three scenarios have been analyzed considering the reference impact (reference scenario), the application of the mitigation actions (best-case scenario), and what farmers would implement (realistic scenario). Overall, the most effective mitigation actions in the best-case scenario were anaerobic manure treatment and the management and distribution of livestock manure and fertilizers, showing a potential reduction in total environmental impacts of 7-9% and 6-7%, respectively. Farmers' responses indicated a willingness to implement the latter mitigation strategy better. The optimization of the herd composition, feed quality, and heat recovery reported a range impact reduction between 0.01-5%.

Estimation of renewable biogas energy potential from livestock manure: A case study of India

The rationale of the case study is to estimate biomass resources potential in rural Haryana, India from animal manure and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The state has the potential of 52.29 million tons of livestock dung which generates a biogas of 5464.11 million m3 and electrical energy of 9835.4 GWh annually. Assessment of biogas equivalence of traditional fuels is also carried out. The state has a biofertilizer potential of 6.78 million tons/year. The biomass resource distribution, power density, and electricity per-capita potential of livestock manure are projected to be 27.41 kton/km2, 0.59 W/m2, and 387.96 kWh/capita respectively. Biomass power generation leads to an estimated saving of 1707.08 to 3583.73 million kg/year, with a baseline headline of 2560.32 million kg/year CO2equivalent emissions, from transition to local livestock biomass in place of diesel for power. These findings can assist policy planners in decentralized bioenergy generation and map emission profiles with bioenergy.

Relationships between livestock density and soil phosphorus contents – County and farm level analyses

Soil fertility of cropland depended partly on the local availability of livestock manure in history. The relationship between soil fertility and livestock density became entangled through spatial decoupling of livestock and crop farms. Understanding this relationship is important for spatial planning of livestock farms and for manure management. This paper addresses the relationships between livestock density and soil phosphorus content at farm and regional levels in Hebei (CN), which experienced a very rapid livestock revolution. County-level relationships were explored using existing databases with livestock density and Olsen-P contents. Farm level relationships were explored with a farm survey among 80 livestock farms and 480 crop farms, and with analyses of total phosphorus (TP) and oxalate-extractable phosphorus (Pox) in topsoil (0–15 cm) and subsoil (15–30 cm) of 562 fields. Results indicate that mean Olsen-P (9–41 mg/kg) did not have clear relationship with mean livestock density (0.4–16.0 LSU/ha) in the 167 counties. There was also no clear relationship between livestock density and TP and Pox contents at farm level. However, livestock farms with cropland had higher TP and Pox contents than crop farms without livestock. Most livestock farms applied excessive amounts of manure to on-farm cropland and exported manure to crop farms within a distance of 5 km. Manure application on crop farms depended on crop types; 21 % of cereal fields, 31 % of cotton fields, 58 % of the orchards fields, and 65 % of the vegetable fields received manure regularly. The TP content of the subsoil was as high as or higher than the TP content of the topsoil in 21 % of the fields from livestock farms and 41 % of the fields from crop farms, which suggests P leaching. Our results indicate that livestock manures are not well utilized. There is a need for manure application limits, especially on livestock farms, and incentives for improving manure distribution and utilization.

Budidaya Tanaman Nanas dalam upaya Meningkatkan Nilai Ekonomi Pondok Pesantren

The curriculum that established at Islamic Boarding Schools was prepared by combining religious education as a provision of religious knowledge and general knowledge. The purpose of this assistance was to cultivate pineapple plants to increase the economic value of Islamic boarding schools. Researchers used Community Based Research (CBR). This activity was carried out at Miftahul Jannah Islamic Boarding School, Kalicinta, North Kotabumi, North Lampung. The sample was 30 participants. The method used in carrying out the activities involve conducting interviews with the administrators of the Miftahul Jannah Islamic Boarding School, North Kotabumi, North Lampung. The activities were conducting counseling and training on the optimization of land, distribution and selection of pineapple seeds and manure, implementation of yard land optimization activities, and monitoring and evaluation of land optimization activities. This finding helped Islamic boarding schools in optimizing empty yards into productive land. Hence, in the future it could help increase the economic value or income of the boarding school, so that it makes economic independence for Islamic boarding schools.
 Keywords: Pineapple Cultivation, Economic Improvement, Increasing Economic Pesantren

液态粪肥施肥机分配机构设计与试验研究

To solve the problems of high error on both sides and high coefficient of variation during liquid manure distribution, this work designed a distribution mechanism integrating conveying, stirring and distribution functions, combined with the physical properties of selected liquid manure. Taking rotor speed, inlet flow and moving cutter structure as test factors, the Design-Expert 8.0.6 software was used to design "three-factor three-level quadratic regression" orthogonal test and establish response surface regression model. Through observing relative error and coefficient of variation, uniform distribution characteristics test and parameter optimization of liquid manure were performed. The results showed that the primary and secondary order of influencing factors on the relative error is rotor speed> inlet flow > moving cutter structure; the primary and secondary order of influencing factors on the coefficient of variation is inlet flow > moving cutter structure> rotor speed. Further, the optimization test indicated that 170 r/min rotor speed, 80 m3/h inlet flow, combined with arc-shaped moving cutter structure could output 10.50% relative error and 9.30% variation rate, which was less than 5% relative to the model predicted value.

Farm-scale water-energy-food-waste nexus analysis for a closed-loop dairy system

Largely due to manure management, intensive livestock production is known to negatively impact air, water, and soil quality. Excessive manure is often applied to soil as fertilizer or stored in lagoon. However, some thermo-chemical methods, such as gasification and pyrolysis, can transform manure from waste into a valuable resource. The closed-loop dairy concept employs these methods to create biochar derived from cow manure for use as a soil amendment and a water filtration medium. This closed-loop concept has the potential to produce syngas and bio-oil for production of electricity, and to reduce excessive nutrients in liquid manure irrigation by filtering manure slurry stored in lagoons. It replaces solid manure with biochar in land applications to further reduce nutrient runoff and increase soil resilience against erosion. In this study, a Water-Energy-Food-Waste nexus-based analysis and resource allocation tool was developed to evaluate the economic, environmental, and social feasibility of the closed-loop dairy system. The tool utilizes several levers to simulate a user-specified dairy operation, such as number of livestock, acres farmed, quantity of effluent irrigation, distribution of manure and biochar products, and type of biomass conversions. Financial estimates from central Texas in 2018 were used to evaluate the profitability of these practices against the costs of a dairy and hay operation. The study showed that the closed-loop dairy system, while case dependent, could be profitable and, based on operational costs, a small dairy of approximately 200 cows could break even. Results also indicate that the benefits of biomass conversions to produce energy byproducts should increase with scale. This study can help many dairy farms that are considering the economic and environmental sustainability of the industry, which has been under scrutiny.

A Transportation Network Optimization Model for Livestock Manure under Different Terrains Considering Economic and Environmental Benefits

Optimizing the path of livestock manure used for farmland is a hugely significant issue, which not only improves the utilization efficiency of manure but also reduces the cost of the transportation of manure. However, some factors such as different terrains and the density of surrounding farmland may lead to more difficulty in further improving the resource utilization rate. Therefore, this paper aims to establish a transport network optimization model for a complex livestock manure distribution scheme. Using basic information from livestock and poultry farms, cultivated land, water areas and forestland in Xinzhou District, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, the relationship between farmland and livestock farms is divided into farm-intensive and water-intensive farmland areas by using the Voronoi diagram subdivision method. Then, according to the supply–demand balance of manure and crop demand, an optimization model is proposed to discuss the manure return scheme for these two types of terrain. The results show that our model can help significantly improve manure utilization efficiency under different terrain situations, which is proposed comprehensively, considering the economic and environmental benefits.

Development of the Manure Distributing Machine

HighlightsIn this study, a compact, mobile manure distributor capable of operating effectively on narrow farm roads and applying undiluted, highly concentrated manure on fields was developed.The inclusion of three manure distribution functions is expected to reduce manure transport and application costs.The use of this machine can reduce livestock waste disposal costs, increase soil fertility, enhance the physical and chemical properties of soil, reduce the use of commercial fertilizers when planting crops, upgrade the technology employed for recycling domestic livestock resources, and assist with animal husbandry by facilitating the planting of forage and high-energy crops.Abstract. In this study, the aim has been developed a manure collecting, processing, and distributing processor (machine) that is suitable for farming in Taiwan’s agricultural lands. The designed machine is composed of a stirring and draw unit, a manure containing barrel, a manure output mechanism, a ditch excavator, and a soil covering device or filling pipes set with pan-breakers. A tractor both carries and supplies power to the machine. Undiluted manure is pumped from an anaerobic fermentation tank into the manure containing barrel within which the stirring and draw unit is set, and after the manure is thoroughly mixed and stirred, it well the manure is delivered to the manure output mechanism through a 2-in. round pipe. The processing and spreading units developed here are soil-surface-spreading type, soil-stratum-setting type, and deep-soil-setting type. The soil-surface spreading type unit output manure on land surface directly then mixes the manure into soil by tillage, the soil-stratum-setting-type unit uses the ditch excavator to first dig a ditch, and after manure is pumped into the ditch, the soil covering device covers the ditch with the excavated soil. The deep soil setting enables manure to be deposited 30~40 cm below the soil surface, with the loose soil being spread back over the manure after filling. In field tests, manure was spread over the soil surface, incorporated into the soil, or deep filled into subsoil at three test sites, namely Yilan County riverside land, the Tainan County Livestock Research Institute, and a sweet potato field and cornfield in Tainan County. The results revealed that the 3-ton capacity of soil-stratum-setting method field capacity reached 0.58 ha/h at a speed of 2.92 ± 0.07 km/h, and the average cultivation depth was 17.5 ± 0.3 cm. The 5-ton capacity of soil-surface-spreading method working capacity was 1.02 ha/h at a speed of 3.49 ± 0.23 km/h. The 5-ton capacity of soil-stratum-setting method working capacity was 0.61 ha/h at a speed of 2.52 ± 0.32 km/h, and the average cultivation depth was 21.29 ± 1.31 cm. For the 5-ton capacity barrel of the deep-soil-setting type manure spreading machine field capacity was 0.62 ha/h at a speed of 2.8 ± 0.43 km/h. By using the soil-surface-spreading method can fast to handle livestock wastewater and/or manure spray-on land, and using the soil-stratum-setting method or deep-soil-setting method can reduce odor dissipation and fill it directly. Thus, this study successfully developed the compact, mobile, and domestically made manure-distributing processor that can suitably operate in Taiwan farm roads and apply undiluted, highly concentrated manure on fields. The three manure-distributing methods are expected to lower manure transport and application costs. Keywords: Fertilizer spreading, Reuse, Swine manure, Waste reduction.

Conservation water environment of a lagoon system by controlling manure distribution

The Ebrie lagoon system comprises the lagoons of Ebrie, Potou, and Adjin. In the villages that are around the edges of this lagoon system, there are several farms, such as pigsty, poultry and enclosures. Thus, the excessive use of manure on farmland creates a serious environmental problem. The excessive manure discharge that crops need as fertilizer leads to excess manure in these fields. As Ivory Coast is a country where it rains a lot, rainwater drains these excessive quantities from the surface into the Ebrie, Potou, and Adjin lagoons, where they pollute the water, feed the algae, and harm the fish. Our first aim is to develop an optimization method based on ordinary differential equations (ODE) to determine the right field at the right time for environmental damage to be limited. We collect current data in a region of topologically connected lagoons and their adjacent farmlands. To numerically solve this mathematical problem, the software used is Matlab. Using real data, this solution improves the quality of the water by drastically reducing in a continuous-time, the quantity of manure and its principal components such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Effect of dung, ash and runoff water on wheat and barley grain sizes and stable isotope ratios: Experimental studies in ancient desert agriculture (Negev, Israel)

Archaeological excavations in the central Negev desert in terraced wadi fields at Horvat Haluqim revealed remains of two ancient fertilizers: charred plant ash and animal dung. Average annual rainfall in the area is 94 mm. Runoff rainwater from natural hillside catchments, captured by terrace walls, augmented soil moisture in valleys to enable agriculture. Some terraced fields are farmed by Bedouin, who grow wheat and barley. Using these cereal varieties, we conducted novel investigations in this arid desert environment about the effect of plant ash, sheep dung and runoff water on grain sizes, δ13C, Δ13C, and δ15N. Our study included both controlled pot experiments and traditional runoff farming by Bedouin. The pots were filled with local desert loess soil to investigate the effect of four different fertilizer treatments – (1) “None” for baseline data, (2) “Ash”, (3) “Dung”, (4) “Ash & Dung combined” – on the above cereal varieties. The largest cereal grains were produced by treatment 4 (ash & dung), which is a remarkable result, because it independently corroborates the archaeological findings. The pots received equal amounts of tap water, totalling 240 mm for barley and 325 mm for wheat. The Δ13C values of cereal grains in the pot experiments ranged from 15.62 to 17.47‰. Concerning δ15N, sheep dung produced a small increase, as compared to the baseline data, but plant ash fertilizer caused a decrease. Ash and dung together (treatment 4) yielded variable δ15N results. Stable isotopes of the same cereal varieties were also studied in the context of traditional runoff farming by Bedouin in terraced wadi fields in the area. Runoff water reception by terraced fields is by nature highly variable. A negative correlation was found between δ13C of cereal grains and runoff soil moisture. The Δ13C values ranged from 12.59 to 17.44‰. Concerning δ15N, cereal grains from the drier fields had comparatively high values, while the wetter fields yielded the two lowest δ15N values. Nevertheless, other δ15N values from wetter fields were quite high, indicating the effect of additional factors besides runoff water. Though the Bedouin do not add fertilizers to the terraced fields, their sheep and goats graze the cereal stubble after the harvest. This leads to a spatially random and spotty distribution of manure, which may explain the diverging δ15N values.

Quantification of sustainable animal manure utilization strategies in Hangzhou, China

ContextChina's livestock and poultry industries have been experiencing a transformation over recent decades, transitioning from family-size farms to larger, confined animal feeding operations. This development has significantly improved animal production capacity and reduced costs but has also created new challenges to manure management. One important concern is the conflicting interests of environmental protection and economic welfare between policymakers and manure utilization practitioners. ObjectiveIn this study, a regional manure utilization chain (RMUC) model was developed by recognizing optimal logistic configurations for manure and manure-based products between animal feeding operations, centralized processing facilities, and crop farms. We then use RMUC model to quantify the impact of management practices to the animal manure utilization chain of Hangzhou, China in the context of sustainable development. MethodThe RMUC model implemented an analytical target cascading structure with a multi-objective optimization algorithm to generate a set of Pareto-optimal configurations for discussing the regional economic costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission considering the practitioners' operational decisions to the designated manure management practices. Results and conclusionA comparative analysis quantified and prioritized the manure management practices (solid/liquid separation, manure reduction strategies); estimated economic and GHG emission credits of manure composition measurements; and indicated economic and GHG emission benefits of electric vehicles and the secondary infrastructures on manure distribution. The results showed sustainable metrics of the manure utilization improvement, including private costs, regional benefits, and the global impact of GHG emissions. SignificanceThe RMUC model demonstrated the compromise between practitioners' interests and public sustainability benefits given a certain level of constraints in decision process. Our analysis is an example of implementing computational models to deal with agricultural systematic problems with social, environmental, and economic concerns.

Focus on the Chicken Manure Power Generation in China: How to Promote the Biomass Waste Industry?

With the vigorous growth of animal husbandry, animal feces in the agriculture sector gradually deteriorate the environment. The chicken manure power generation is becoming viable and useful for energy conversion to comply with the context of environmental protection in China. Based on resource endowments and technical conditions, this paper studies the current situation of chicken manure power generation in China. Combined with the policy environment, the research conducts a PEST-SWOT matrix analysis to thoroughly look into the strengths and weaknesses, the opportunities and challenges. Then, the paper analyzes the distribution of chicken manure and gives some solutions from respects of government regulatory behavior, industrial-organizational behavior and corporation strategic behavior. Finally, it is concluded that: 1) the government should strengthen policy support by actively improving the subsidy mechanism and lowering the threshold of financing and credit; 2) enterprises should focus on improving power generation technology and boiler treatment technology.

The study of distribution of chicken manure fertilizer for papaya growth and production beneath unproductive palm oil

The research was conducted in Naga Sari village, Muaro Jambi regency, from February 2020 to June 2020. The design applied was a group-randomized design with 2 treatment factors. The first factor was the California variety (V1) and ruby rise red variety (V2). The second factor was chicken manure distribution: without fertilizer distribution (P0), 50 g of (P1), 100 of (P2), 150 of (P3), and 200 of (P4). The result of this research showed that the distribution of 150 g has a real impact on the plant’s height and stem diameter, and the number of fruits on 5 Months After Cultivating to 6 Months After Cultivating. Variety treatment doesn’t have a real impact on the papaya observation parameter. The interaction among the varieties with a dose of chicken manure has a real impact on plant height, stem diameter, and a number of the leaf. Qualitative data from papaya varieties showed fruit color and taste experiment gets the real impact. The impact of papaya plants and chicken manure showed a good growth tendency on palm oil cultivated with ruby rise red papaya as the side plant. The organoleptic test shows that the variety of Ruby papaya is preferred.

Manure recycling from urban livestock farms for closing the urban\u2013rural nutrient loops

Rapid urbanization in developing countries is attracting urban livestock farming, which is associated with feed nutrient imports and manure nutrient accumulations. Here, we report on manure nutrients (N, P and K) production on urban livestock farms in Addis Ababa and Jimma in Ethiopia, and estimate manure recovery on these farms and its recycling in urban, peri-urban and rural crop farms. Estimates were based on data from farm surveys, statistics, literature and model calculations. Urban livestock farms had on average 13 tropical livestock units and positive N, P and K balances. Urban crop farms had negative N and K balances, and did not use manure from urban livestock farms. We estimated that 0.5–2.6 Gg N, 0.2–0.8 Gg P and 0.9–3.7 Gg K can be collected in manure from the 5,200 urban livestock farms in Addis Ababa year−1, and can be recycled in crop land. Two manure allocation strategies were explored: balanced P fertilization and balanced N fertilization. The former allowed greater precision in matching nutrient supply to demand, and was associated with greater manure transport and distribution, up to rural areas. Manure recycling has several benefits: synthetic fertilizer savings (75–300 million Ethiopian Birr year−1 for Addis Ababa), soil fertility replenishment, and reductions in water pollution. However, there are various cultural, educational and institutional barriers for manure recycling. We argue that more quantitative data and scenario analyses are needed for deliberative decision making and for exploring more sustainable development pathways of urban livestock farms, re-connected to crop farms via manure recycling.