Enter manures and other organic sources of crop nutrients applied on the farm here.

: The Add button opens a dialog box where you type in a name and select a nutrient type for the source you’re adding to the crop year. New source names should be unique for the farm over all of the crop years; use a descriptive name for a nutrient source (Ex. lagoon, Dairy Pack, pit 1, pastured heifers).  If there is a type of manure that is spread with two different spreaders with different rates of application, you may want to make a different source name for each spreader.  If you have multiple manure analyses per year for a particular source, enter them as separate sources with distinctive names.  There is no limit to the number of nutrient sources you can enter.

: Click on Edit to open a dialog box where you can select the source, edit the name and nutrient type. For example, you can select the source Graze, and modify it from Dairy, grazing to Beef, grazing. These changes affect all crop years. If a nutrient source is no longer in use and is replaced with a new source, you must create that new source using the Add button on the Nutrient Sources screen. If you try to change the name to an existing source name, you will be notified that the name is in use and you will have the option to merge the two sources into one source.

: To delete a source from the table, click on the row, then select delete.  A window will open asking you to confirm the delete.

Source name: To add a new source, use the Add button.  Click on the Ellipsis button () to edit the name.

Nutrient type: Nutrient types are filled in from the information you selected in the Add or Edit dialog boxes.

If you select Biosolid, liquid or Biosolid, solid as a nutrient type, the first year available nutrients cells display zeroes. When you click on one of these cells, the Biosolids Analysis Entry dialog box will open so you can enter the laboratory analysis of the biosolid and the software will calculate the available nutrients.

If you enter Compost, Treated manure, solid, or Treated manure, liquid, the first year available nutrient cells will display zeroes and you will need to enter this information directly from a laboratory analysis. For SnapPlus, the definition of Treated manure is from the 590 Standard. It is manure and/or manure constituents that have been subjected to treatment or processing that has the documented effect of substantially eliminating pathogens. Treatment or processing examples include thermophyllic anaerobic digestion, high temperature composting of manure solids or manipulation of pH.

N surface (surface-applied): Default first year available nutrient values are automatically placed by SnapPlus. Click on cell to overwrite values. Surface-applied is defined as manure that is applied to the soil surface and not incorporated into the soil within three days.

N incorp  (incorporated): Default first year available nutrient values are automatically placed by SnapPlus. Click on cell to overwrite values. Incorporation is defined as a treatment in which manure is surface spread and then worked into the soil using conventional tillage implements (cultivators with rigid tines, spring tines, discs, or harrows) within 72 hours.

N inject (injected): Default first year available nutrient values are automatically placed by SnapPlus. Click on cell to overwrite values. Injection is defined as applying liquid manure beneath the soil surface or incorporating with tillage within one hour.

P2O5: Default first year available nutrient values are automatically placed by SnapPlus. Click on cell to overwrite values.

K2O: Default first year available nutrient values are automatically placed by SnapPlus. Click on cell to overwrite values.

Dry Matter (%): Default dry matter % values are automatically placed by SnapPlus. Click on cell to overwrite values.

Analysis Date: If you have a lab analysis date, enter it here.

Known Annual Volume:This should be entered for every source if available. This will allow the program to compare the planned volume of manure spread in a given year with the volume produced. Leaving this cell blank will not prevent the program from calculating nutrient application rates.  It is needed, however, to know whether all of a farm’s manure can be distributed appropriately in a given crop year. Use the Manure Production Estimator to calculate these volumes.

Filling this section in is optional, but can be very helpful since it will calculate the current farm-specific $/lb costs for fertilizer N, P2O5 and K2O and S and display them in the Nutrient Data Sources table. Dollar values for nutrients for manure spread on the farm can also be shown on the Spreading Plan report.  In the spreading plan report setup, click the Include cost data checkbox.

Clicking on the button will launch the calculator seen below. This can be used to figure out nutrient values. Pressing OK will insert the current value of the calculator into the costs table for the corresponding nutrient.

These two areas on the screen are where you enter fertilizers for your farm.  The method for entering data is similar for both but will be demonstrated with the Dry Fertilizer section.  

Start by clicking the Add button , and a box will appear for the name of the fertilizer. You can pick a shared fertilizer from the drop down list or select <new fertilizer> and type the name and analysis of your own fertilizers in the following dialog box.  If entering your own fertilizer, you must include the N, P205, and K20 analysis for each fertilizer you add (S, Mg and Ca are optional, but you add them for record keeping purposes). Filling in the last column (Cost $ per ton) is optional, but if this value is entered, SnapPlus will provide a cost for the total amount of each fertilizer spread in a year in the Fertilizer Source Summary on the Spreading Plan report. In the report setup, click the Include cost data checkbox. A hint for keeping track of micronutrient applications: The SnapPlus fertilizer analysis tables do not contain micronutrient information, but you can add fertilizers containing micronutrients to the list and include the micronutrient analysis in the fertilizer name. These fertilizers can then be applied like any other fertilizer in SnapPlus and will show up on the Spreading Plan and other important reports.

Edit: Click on Edit button to open a dialog box where you can select the fertilizer source and edit the name. For example, you can select the source MyDryFert, and modify it to be MyDryFert (13-14-15-0). These changes affect all crop years. If a fertilizer source is no longer in use and is replaced with a new source, you must create that new source using the Add button on the Nutrient Sources screen.  If you try to change the name to an existing source name, you will be notified that the name is in use and you will have the option to merge the two sources into one source.

Fertilizer Cost $/lb Calculator. By clicking on the  button, you can calculate the N, P2O5, K2O, and S costs for your fertilizers in a given year. The Cost $/lb will also be calculated when you enter the Cost per ton.

Including More than One Nutrient's Cost

This cost calculator calculates a $/lb for each individual nutrient, N, P2O5, K2O or S, as if it were the only nutrient in the fertilizer.  Here is a method for including the costs of more than one nutrient in a fertilizer, showing how to calculate the cost of both N and P2O5 in Diammonium phosphate (DAP).

First, pick the most common single nutrient N source used on the farm and calculate the $/lb of N. In the example below, this is urea. At $500 ton, the price per lb is $ 0.54.  So the base price for N on this farm is $0.54.

Second, calculate the cost of N in a ton of DAP.  One ton (2000 lb) of DAP is 18% N, or 360 lb.  At $ 0.54 per lb, this has a value of $194.

Third, subtract the cost of the N from the per ton price for DAP and enter the result in the Cost $ column for DAP.   If the cost of DAP is $580 per ton, subtracting $194 leaves $386.  When $386 is entered for the cost of DAP, the table shows that P2O5 is $0.42/lb.  Note: when using this method, ignore the value displayed for N $/lb for the mixed fertilizer – you calculated the value of N in the N-only fertilizer.