Which cow manure to collect (with a cart in a field): fresh(damp) or not fresh(dry)?

[Peter Parker]

Good day! I want to wet a compost pile of leaves( "brown" compost as some sources call it) with cow manure emulsion in water in order to add nitrogen to it(initial goal) and perhaps to reduce its ripening time like alfalfa pellets can heat a compost pile(one forum member said, not positive about that) meaning promoting microbiological processes. Which manure is better to collect with a cart: dry(as it is easier to collect, there is more of that and its lighter(less water content) and I don't have to mess with flies), or fresh(messing with flies, heavier, not that many of that). As for the oldness of the old one, I can't discern if it is a week, a month or a year old, maybe anyone has suggestions how to tell if the manure is not too old and not divested of nitrogen? If fresh manure is much better I would collect fresh but if they differ a little I would collect more of dry(if it is not too old)
Best regards,
Petek Montez
Sorry for my English, I am Georgian

 

[Meadowlark]

Howdy, @Peter Parker and your English is just fine.

Fresh is better and the longer it stays in the field diluted by the elements e.g rain, sunshine the less nutrients it will contain. The old "cow chip" that has been dried by sun and diluted by rain for months that you can pick up intact by hand is of little nutrient value compared to fresh.

The ideal situation is to gather where the manure is concentrated such as a feeding area. Here you can also harvest urine-soaked hay and topsoil. Urine is high in Nitrogen and acts as a catalyst to heating up that compost pile. When harvesting you should try to get the very top layer of soil or whatever the manure in on. It has absorbed valuable nutrients.

For many years, in the winters I have fed my cattle in the same spot for a period of time and then push all the material, manure, urine, hay, and top layers of soil into large piles which almost immediately begin composting...reaching high temps which kill off seeds and pathogens quickly.

It helps to have equipment to handle this operation, but it can be done manually especially if all you are doing is amending other compost with the cow materials. Makes for incredibly high-quality material which I have had tested out showing no N, P, K need to be added to it to be successful.

Examples of my compost piles: