Spreading Compost

[Does’ Leap]

Every two years we hire an excavator to muck out the accumulated bedding pack in our barn, load it in dump trucks, and transport it to the parts of our farm needing fertility. Much of our farm is sloped and my thought is to dump loads at the top of hills and spread down with horses. My assumption is that, as long as I am spreading, the spreader will help hold back the load. Is this a fair assumption or is it better to spread up hill?

George

[Carl Russell]

I have no idea how steep your slopes are, but your horses should be able to hold back a loaded spreader and stop it on pretty much any hill I’ve worked on. The spreader in gear will slow it down for sure, but I think that horses moving forward at a working clip will make the spreader work better. I’d spread up hill, or on the contour. Carl

[Donn Hewes]

Just last week I finished spreading about 60 loads of compost, about average for us. In the fall I will spread about some more. Depending on the moisture content and the amount material is broken up, and how full a spreader is, they can draw hard at first. As you continue to empty the spreader it becomes easier and easier to pull, depending on conditions and the spreader they also become noisier as they empty. Unfortunately my compost also has a few big rocks in it that make some big noises as the spreader is almost empty. Spreading is some thing that all but the very best horses respond to. I would not attempt to spread down hill. If I had any doubt about the horses I would start with a slight up hill. I spread into the wind, but that may be a factor of my spreader. I took some pictures of my new compost piles but will have to add them later. Donn

[Rick Alger]

I too would spread uphill, but I would also start spreading each load in relatively flat areas so I wasn’t pulling too much up hill. Set the spread rate low on the steep grades. Load light. Go often.

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