Above: Composting area near a pasture shelter. Stage 1 and Stage 3 pile.

by definition, is the controlled decomposition of organic matter, through the addition of aerobic biological agents and other components to speed up the process.

Dexters waste A TON of hay, literally. There is hay waste in every operation, no matter what you do. The goal is to try and lessen that waste for your wallet's sake, feeding the cows enough hay to get them through the year successfully and manage the cleanup in a way that benefits your ranch. Cows also produce a ton of manure. Often times the two go hand in hand. You will find your nice hay bale eaten down and surrounded by soiled hay on the ground. In the south, this type of situation will bring on the flies in a terrible way if you get some rain with it. So what can you do with this waste?

If you have a tractor move it to a large pile, even as big as 12 feet tall by 20 feet wide. I would make separate piles if more than that amount. After a year of turning this huge pile, it will bring you about 10 yards of amazing composting soil. You will need to put these piles in locations that can be easily turned with your front loader. This soil can be used for so many things:

• Use in your garden for the best vegetable production you have seen ( You do have to weed your rows more often.)
• Use on the ground, to fill in wet or soggy areas on your property, because this dirt will not be muddy.
• Spread on areas of your pasture that need better grass growth and erosion control.

You want to only add in plant based waste, like hay, manure, kitchen vegetable scraps etc. Caution with including kitchen waste as it can bring in unwanted critters, like raccoons, skunks etc. Hay and manure work perfect together and do not need any other types of organic material. Since we use hay in our chicken coops, were also include that waste for these compost piles, but ensure the material is mixed in to existing pile immediately. You do not want your Dexters nosing around in big piles of chicken droppings. Once it is mixed in, they don't mess with it.

You want aerobic ( With oxygen) microbes so the breakdown occurs with no smell, unlike if you allowed it to decompose with anaerobic ( no oxygen) microbes, resulting in a fermentation. You do not need to add any specific microbes, as they are already naturally occurring in the waste you will use. You just need to cultivate the living organisms to help you break down your farm waste, into something useful, through aeration and moisture monitoring.

After you have made a fairly large initial pile, stop adding to that pile and just focus on encouraging decomposition. How much waste you add each day, will determine on how many piles you have going each year. You really want to stop adding fresh manure after about 3 months, so you can stop adding hot product to the mix. It takes several months to stabilize compost. A large pile composts down much faster than a smaller one, since it can contain the heat better. At any given time, I have 2-3 fresh piles, 2 cooking piles and 2 cured/stable piles. Each pile is about 10-20 yards worth.

I will describe the progression in 1-4 stages below (with Pictures.) The age of compost may vary slightly depending on the time of year that it was started. Compost piles started in spring, mature much faster initially, but then taper off when it cools down. While piles started in winter, are slow to mature, but take off in decomposition by spring/summer.

You will want to turn your compost pile more often in the warmer months, to encourage decomposition, through aeration. You may also need to add a little water in the scorching south summer days in Texas and Louisiana. The microbes need a little water, just like other living things. To do this you can just leave a garden hose running, on the top of the pile, for about 10 minutes or you can fill your front loader full of water and dump it right on the pile. Just want to add a little moisture, but you do not want to flood the pile or make it soggy. Mix it up well and let it do it's job. When I know that rain is coming, I will turn the piles and then flatten the top, with my front loader to give it more surface area to absorb the rain.

In the colder months you can just turn the pile monthly, so the heat remains fairly constant in the center. The key here is allowing the pile to form somewhat of a crust so the heat will be retained. I typically turn the pile if I known any kind of precipitation is coming.

In cooler temps, when you turn the piles, you will see massive amounts of steam coming out. That is always a good sign. I will turn them, taking care to grab some compost from the center to distribute across the outside of the pile. This allows the microbes to start working in other areas and gives the fresher material some time in the higher temperature center. These piles have been so warm that I have seen my Dexters relaxing on top of the piles while steam circled all around them. Not my idea of a nice steam room but whatever floats their boat I guess.

Above: Stage 1, Fresh manure and hay waste brought out to this new pile. The only pile that has a bit of an odor.

Above: Stage 1, Very fresh manure and hay straight from the barn or field ( 1 day to 3 months old). NOTICE THE STEAM!!

Above: STEAM! You could literally feel the heat coming off of this stuff. Minimal smell, like grass clippings and dirt.

Above: Stage 1, How we clean out our stalls and smaller shelters, where the tractor would be overkill in the effort. Easier on your property when muddy and good exercise too.

Above: Stage 2 Pile is about 1/2 the size it was 5-6 months ago.

Above: Stage 2 Good breakdown, Near internal temperature about 100F. Most manure is broken down into smaller particles, with lots of stiff hay pieces remaining.

Above: Stage 2 Close up view of the consistency. Still has brown color similar to manure. Zero smell. Zero flies. Dusty texture needs water added to this pile, if no rains soon.

Above: Stage 3, Full view of pile. Good crust formed during this winter month. Near internal temperature just under 100F.

Above: Stage 3, All manure is broken down into tiny particles. Only small decomposing pieces of hay remaining.

Above: Stage 3 Good moisture. Feels like good moist topsoil. Rich dark color. You are tempted to use this in your garden, but it is still too hot to use for planting. It will be too much for your garden. Also best to wait another month or two before using for ground cover, to get the proper consistency. Very close to being ready.

Above: Stage 4, Fully cured. Only vegetation you see is grass that is accidently scooped up when turning the pile. Perfect dirt for anywhere you want to put it.

Above: Stage 4, This compost is over a year old and fully cured. It resembles regular top soil dirt. If not turned regularly it will compact down firmly, allowing grass and other vegetation to grow.

Above: Stage 4, Dirt is fine, with a slight sandy texture. No hay particles left. All vegetation consumed. Still has some moisture content. Could be used for a garden or other planting at this point, without worry of it “burning” the plants.

Above: Just Hay/manure to beautiful dirt in 12 months. Most work was cleaning out the shelters.

Composting Horse Manure by Texas Agrilife Extension

Composting Horse Manure- WEB LINK

Above: The 2-3 month old Dexter calves love playing King and Queen of the mountain.

Above: The maturing compost piles tower over the size of the little calves. Its the closest thing, to mountains, they will get to in these parts of Texas.

Above: All ages, of Dexters, love to lay on the cool dirt, any hot day.