Manure spreader suggestions??

so i have found a place about 45min away that i can get my "fertilizer" for the farm for. there are alot of dairy farms in that area so i figured i would be able to find something suitable. this operation takes all the manure from the farms and composts it down until all negative sprays etc are gone. they provide tests and have certs to prove this is true. on the plus side the material is barely more than a load of topsoil and that is only because the hauling fee of not being local or it would be cheaper!

this all sounds great until they quote the price to spread it out. hauling 2 pieces of equipment and spreading is about 5x the material cost. so i think ill just buy a manure spreader! well then i priced a high quality spreader and was floored.

1) being that it is compost is an actual manure spreader needed?
2) if so does anyone have any suggestions of manufacturers?

rotating my cattle is not an option at this point do to time constraints. well i have a couple fields but i cant rotate them on small paddocks at this time so the tested manure compost is my best option at this point.

all the cheaper options ive found have pretty terrible reviews and a small one would definitely would not be ideal as i need to spread it over somewhere around 10 acres.

any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated!! i believe i read on here that Travis Johnson uses this method if memory serves me correct.

help a newbie wannabe permie out :)

 Shaktiman compost spreader's are a chinese made implement that a couple locals spread composted gin-trash around my area.
If you have a tractor it will probably spread that stuff around fine for a smaller farm.

It is no new problem finding a decent manure spreader. Like my uncle used to say, they're just one product no manufacturer ever would stand behind...
Best of luck!

Joel at Earth Tools sells a tow behind manure spreader by Earth and Turf Products in PA we have been considering for our walk behind tractor. Looking at their website, they sell a whole range of spreaders and top dressers of varying sizes and configurations including sel propelled. Looks like good quality to me and Joel doesn’t sell junk.

Thanks for the info. I had seen one of those but not the other. I called on a highly rated spreader (name escapes me atm) and got a price. Based on how much that was I definitely came here next before continuing to search lol.

Hi, If you are handy why not build your own?

I know you might not have time for daily moves, but you could start by putting a single wire to split each of your fields in half, and move them into the next paddock when they have eaten down the one they are in.
Would be cheaper and maybe less of a headache than buying a manure spreader...just a thought

i dont know if your in an area that has a TSC but they sell a little yellow one. DONT GET IT. its total crap.
if you want one i have this model. you can have it for $500

Yes I saw the reviews on the tsc one. The ones I saw were in the 4-5k range. I was pretty shocked but any that seem reasonably priced in my mind have terrible reviews

I do plan to try some hot wires to at least help some but from what I understand you don’t get the big benefit unless you make the yards very small and move constantly. It’s worth a try. I do have and cpl water tanks I can move around that previous owner left

Old cheap ones are no fun. Broken equipment is bad enough when the break isn't located beneath a couple tons of shit!

New ones seem terribly expensive for what they are... just bad news all around..


How much manure and how big an area are you dealing with?

Around 6-7acres

The current plan was to bring composted manure from off site at about 24tons per application