Effects of On-Farm Dairy Manure Composting on Tetracycline Content and Nutrient Composition

This study quantified the potential of farm-scale composting to degrade antibiotics in dairy manure. The compost windrow, consisting of sick cow bedding from a 1000-cow US dairy farm, was managed using the dairy farm’s typical practices and monitored for tetracycline and nutrient composition. Samples were collected over 33 days, which was the time from compost pile formation to land application as fertilizer, and analyzed for solids, antibiotics, and nutrient content. Average tetracycline concentrations at the beginning of the study (452 ng/g DW) were lower than at the end of composting (689 ng/g DW), illustrating that antibiotic degradation was not greater than degradation of the compost solids. Total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) increased from 15.3 to 18.4 g/kg during the composting period due to decreases in solids and likely inhibition of N-mineralization due to the presence of antibiotics. The results indicated that antibiotics were not completely degraded when using the farm’s compost pile management techniques, with antibiotics possibly impacting nitrogen transformation in the compost, which should be considered in nutrient management when using sick cow bedding. Additionally, the results showed that antibiotic degradation during farm-scale composting can vary from reported laboratory-scale due to differences in management, composting duration, and temporal conditions, illustrating the need for more extensive on-farm research including common farm practices and real-world conditions.