What manure is worth at Sep 1, 2026 fertilizer prices
Sigurd Lindquist, Certified Crop Adviser (CCA), Chetek, Wisconsin
That is the first-year fertilizer in liquid dairy manure (4 to 11% dry matter, worked in within 3 days), priced at Midwest dealer quotes from Sep 1, 2026. It comes to about $4.50 a ton, or $112.50 an acre at 6,000 gallons.
These are UW’s book pounds for what a crop can use the first year, not everything in the manure, so all of it is worth more. A test of your own manure gives the total pounds. Put them in the calculator and it prices every pound, for your rate and acres.
- N a lb$0.64urea $590/ton
Sep 1, 2026 - P₂O₅ a lb$0.97MAP $930/ton, N credited
Sep 1, 2026 - K₂O a lb$0.38potash $460/ton
Sep 1, 2026
Midwest dealer quotes, the same ones on fertilizer prices. MAP 12-40-0-10S carries 240 lb of N a ton, worth $154 at the urea price, so that much comes off before the rest is charged to phosphate. Charging it all to P would make P₂O₅ $1.16 a lb. The sulfur is not credited.
Book value by manure type
Dollars of the N, P₂O₅ and K₂O a crop can use the first year, by UW’s book pounds. Liquid is per 1,000 gallons, solid per ton. How fast it gets worked into the soil matters because manure left on top loses N to the air.
| Manure | Not worked in for 3+ days | Worked in, 1 hour to 3 days | Within 1 hour | A ton, worked in 1 hour to 3 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dairy | ||||
| Solid, over 20% dry matter per ton | $6.49 | $7.13 | $7.13 | same |
| Solid, 11 to 20% dry matter per ton | $6.11 | $6.11 | $6.75 | same |
| Liquid, 4 to 11% dry matter per 1,000 gal | $16.83 | $18.75 | $20.03 | $4.50 |
| Liquid, under 4% dry matter per 1,000 gal | $9.69 | $10.97 | $11.62 | $2.63 |
| Beef | ||||
| Solid per ton | $11.58 | $12.22 | $12.86 | same |
| Liquid per 1,000 gal | $13.63 | $14.27 | $15.55 | $3.42 |
| Hog | ||||
| Solid per ton | $17.26 | $18.54 | $20.46 | same |
| Liquid, finishing, indoor pit per 1,000 gal | $32.92 | $36.12 | $39.97 | $8.66 |
| Liquid, finishing, outdoor storage per 1,000 gal | $13.38 | $14.66 | $16.58 | $3.52 |
| Poultry | ||||
| Chicken, solid per ton | $59.31 | $61.24 | $62.52 | same |
| Turkey, solid per ton | $60.21 | $61.49 | $63.42 | same |
| Horse | ||||
| Solid per ton | $8.43 | $9.07 | $9.72 | same |
Nutrient book values from UW Extension A2809, Nutrient Application Guidelines for Field, Vegetable, and Fruit Crops in Wisconsin (Laboski and Peters), the manure chapter’s first-year available nutrients: N by time to incorporation, P₂O₅ and K₂O. They are not the total in the manure. A2809 has a 2026 revision; if your copy differs, go by your copy. A ton of liquid is figured at 8.34 lb a gallon. Farm manure varies a lot from these averages, so a test of your own is worth more than this table.
Pounds of nutrient behind these values
First-year available N [second-year N in brackets] by time to incorporation, then first-year available P₂O₅ and K₂O. Solid in lb a ton, liquid in lb per 1,000 gallons.
| Manure type | N: 1st yr [2nd yr] | P₂O₅ 1st yr | K₂O 1st yr | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not in 3 days | 1 hr–3 days | Within 1 hr | |||
| Dairy | |||||
| Solid, over 20% dry matter (lb/ton) | 2 [1] | 3 [1] | 3 [1] | 3 | 6 |
| Solid, 11 to 20% dry matter (lb/ton) | 2 [1] | 2 [1] | 3 [1] | 3 | 5 |
| Liquid, 4 to 11% dry matter (lb/1,000 gal) | 7 [2] | 10 [2] | 12 [2] | 6 | 17 |
| Liquid, under 4% dry matter (lb/1,000 gal) | 4 [1] | 6 [1] | 7 [1] | 3 | 11 |
| Beef | |||||
| Solid (lb/ton) | 3 [1] | 4 [1] | 5 [1] | 6 | 10 |
| Liquid (lb/1,000 gal) | 5 [2] | 6 [2] | 8 [2] | 6 | 12 |
| Hog | |||||
| Solid (lb/ton) | 7 [2] | 9 [2] | 12 [2] | 10 | 8 |
| Liquid, finishing, indoor pit (lb/1,000 gal) | 17 [4] | 22 [4] | 28 [4] | 14 | 22 |
| Liquid, finishing, outdoor storage (lb/1,000 gal) | 7 [2] | 9 [2] | 12 [2] | 6 | 8 |
| Poultry | |||||
| Chicken, solid (lb/ton) | 24 [5] | 27 [5] | 29 [5] | 35 | 26 |
| Turkey, solid (lb/ton) | 26 [5] | 28 [5] | 31 [5] | 35 | 25 |
| Horse | |||||
| Solid (lb/ton) | 2 [1] | 3 [1] | 4 [1] | 5 | 6 |
Worked example: liquid dairy manure on 80 acres
Liquid dairy manure, 4 to 11% dry matter, worked in within 3 days, 6,000 gallons an acre on 80 acres. Prices are the dealer quotes above.
- Per 1,000 gallons: $6.41 of N, $5.82 of P₂O₅ and $6.52 of K₂O. That is $18.75 per 1,000 gallons, about $4.50 a ton.
- Pounds an acre at 6,000 gallons: 60 lb N, 36 lb P₂O₅, 102 lb K₂O.
- An acre: $38.48 of N, $34.92 of P₂O₅, $39.10 of K₂O. That is $112.50 an acre.
- The 80 acres: $3,078 of N, $2,794 of P₂O₅, $3,128 of K₂O.
That is UW’s first-year book pounds. With a manure test in hand, put the total pounds in the calculator below and it counts all of them.
Manure value calculator
Pick the manure, how fast it gets worked in, the rate and the acres. It gives the pounds and dollars of N, P₂O₅ and K₂O an acre, per 1,000 gallons or per ton, and for the field. With no test it uses UW’s first-year book pounds. Open Use my manure test and type the pounds from your lab report, and it prices every pound you enter. Fertilizer prices fill in from the dealer quotes above, dated, and you can type your own.
The calculator needs JavaScript. The tables above work without it.
Getting manure tested
Book values are averages. Real manure varies with ration, bedding, how much water gets into the pit, and how the pit was agitated. Two dairies down the road from each other can differ by half. A test turns a guess into a number.
- What to ask for: total N, ammonium N, P₂O₅, K₂O and dry matter, from a lab certified for manure in your state.
- Liquid: agitate the pit well, then sample while hauling. Take a cup from several loads through the season, mix them in a clean pail, fill a plastic jar about three quarters full, keep it cold and ship it early in the week so it does not sit over a weekend.
- Solid: take 10 to 20 handfuls from different spots in the pile or from different loads, mix, and send a gallon bag’s worth.
- Cost: commonly $25 to $60 a sample. Test every year for a few years and you learn your own manure.
Rules when manure leaves the farm
If you sell or give manure away, it is worth what all the nutrients in it would cost as fertilizer. A test of the manure that is going gives those pounds. Solid usually goes per ton at the pile, liquid per 1,000 gallons applied.
This is not legal advice, and the rules change by state. A few that come up often:
- Large CAFOs. Under the federal CAFO permit rule, a permitted large CAFO that gives manure to someone else has to give the receiver its most recent manure analysis and keep a record of the date, the receiver’s name and address, and about how much went, for five years.
- Nutrient management plans. Many states require a nutrient management plan for permitted livestock farms, and some require the fields that receive the manure to be in the plan. A buyer’s fields may need to be added before the first load.
- Setbacks and timing. States set distances from wells, streams, lakes and sinkholes, and limits on spreading on frozen or snow-covered ground.
- Commercial applicators. Some states require a license or certification to haul or spread manure for someone else.
Your county land conservation office or state agriculture department can tell you what applies to your farm.
Questions
How much is dairy manure worth per 1,000 gallons?
At Midwest dealer prices from Sep 1, 2026, liquid dairy manure at 4 to 11% dry matter, worked into the soil within 3 days, is worth about $18.75 per 1,000 gallons in first-year fertilizer: 10 lb of N, 6 lb of P2O5 and 17 lb of K2O that a crop can use the first year, by UW Extension A2809's book values. Injected or worked in within an hour it is about $20.03. Left on top for more than 3 days it is about $16.83. The manure holds more than the first-year pounds, so all of it is worth more. A lab test of your own manure gives the total pounds.
How much is manure worth per ton?
At Sep 1, 2026 dealer prices, worked in within 3 days, the first-year book pounds in solid dairy manure over 20% dry matter are worth about $7.13 a ton, beef manure about $12.22, hog manure about $18.54, and chicken litter about $61.24. Liquid dairy manure works out to about $4.50 a ton, since 1,000 gallons weighs a little over 4 tons.
Is this the value of all the nutrients in the manure?
No. The book pounds here are UW Extension A2809's estimates of what a crop can use the first year, so the manure holds more N, P2O5 and K2O than this and is worth more. A lab test of your manure gives the total pounds. Type them into the calculator under Use my manure test and it prices every pound at what the same nutrients cost as urea, MAP and potash.
What is the manure on a whole field worth?
Liquid dairy manure at 4 to 11% dry matter, worked in within 3 days, at 6,000 gallons an acre puts on 60 lb of N, 36 lb of P2O5 and 102 lb of K2O an acre that a crop can use the first year, by UW's book values. At Sep 1, 2026 dealer prices that is $38.48 of N, $34.92 of P2O5 and $39.10 of K2O, $112.50 an acre, or $9,000 for 80 acres.
Why is phosphorus priced from MAP with the nitrogen taken out?
MAP 12-40-0-10S carries 240 lb of N in every ton along with 800 lb of P2O5. Charging the whole price to phosphorus makes P look about $1.16 a pound. Crediting the N at the urea price, about $154 a ton, puts P2O5 at about $0.97 a pound. The sulfur is not credited, so this still runs a little high.
How do I get manure tested and what does it cost?
Use a lab certified for manure analysis in your state and ask for total N, ammonium N, P2O5, K2O and dry matter. Sample during hauling, after the pit is well agitated: take a cup from several loads, mix them in a clean pail, fill a plastic jar about three quarters full, keep it cold and ship it early in the week. For solid manure, take 10 to 20 handfuls from different spots or loads and mix. Tests commonly run $25 to $60 a sample. Test every year for a few years to learn your own manure.
Related
Book values are averages, not a guarantee of what a field will respond to. Questions or a number that looks wrong: contact me. Sig