Early winter weather can present challenges as farmers work to apply manure on their fields. It’s important that farmers pay attention to the weather and know the conditions of their fields before they start manure application, ex­­perts say.

When injection/incorporation isn’t an option, surface application should be considered, according to Dan Andersen, assistant professor of manure management and water quality, agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State University (ISU).

However, he notes, surface ap­­plication can result in additional nitrogen loss, so ...