Cow Runoff 2024

Missouribassman95 reply :

What would cow runoff do to a fishery? Would it kill the fish?

Raul reply :

Depends on the amount of run off. Yes, it can kill the fish.

Randall reply :

Cow runoff can grow giant bass. When looking for lakes that grow big bass one of the first things I look for is cattle farms on the shoreline or upstream. The lakes I fish that grow the most big bass all have cattle farms both on the shoreline and upstream.

OneUp reply :

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Cow runoff can grow giant bass. When looking for lakes that grow big bass one of the first things I look for is cattle farms on the shoreline or upstream. The lakes I fish that grow the most big bass all have cattle farms both on the shoreline and upstream.

Never thought of that, but given the amount of hormones, antibiotics, etc that most livestock are injected with, it makes perfect sense...

Missouribassman95 reply :

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Cow runoff can grow giant bass. When looking for lakes that grow big bass one of the first things I look for is cattle farms on the shoreline or upstream. The lakes I fish that grow the most big bass all have cattle farms both on the shoreline and upstream.

Never thought of that, but give the amount of hormones, antibiotics, etc that most livestock are injected with, it makes perfect sense...

Oh ya, I bet it also gives some nutrition, to the lake.

oteymc reply :

It would take a lot of run off to kill fish. To have much affect at all the cattle would have to be in a confined area, like a feedlot, and then not have much surface area between the confinement and the body of water. If they are just loose in a pasture it would be so scattered, that I wouldn't think there would be much concentration in the run off from a rain.

As far as chemicals, I would think that a Golf Course has as much or more chemicals per acre than a farmer's field and there are multiple posts on here about how good the fishing is at golf course ponds.

Just my opinion.

burleytog reply :

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Cow runoff can grow giant bass. When looking for lakes that grow big bass one of the first things I look for is cattle farms on the shoreline or upstream. The lakes I fish that grow the most big bass all have cattle farms both on the shoreline and upstream.

Never thought of that, but given the amount of hormones, antibiotics, etc that most livestock are injected with, it makes perfect sense...

Really? Really??

Don't believe everything you read.

OneUp reply :

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Cow runoff can grow giant bass. When looking for lakes that grow big bass one of the first things I look for is cattle farms on the shoreline or upstream. The lakes I fish that grow the most big bass all have cattle farms both on the shoreline and upstream.

Never thought of that, but given the amount of hormones, antibiotics, etc that most livestock are injected with, it makes perfect sense...

:

Really? Really??

Don't believe everything you read.

So, did you have anything to contribute to the thread, or did you just stop by to be a smartass?

RAMBLER reply :

Too much can kill a stream. There is a river and a smaller stream running into a lake I grew up near. On the smaller stream, a farmer fed his cattle, on the ice, all winter. He knew what he was doing to the river, the wild life people talked to him about it and his attitude was, he didn't give a d--m. He owned the property and could do what he wanted. There was no law specifically saying he couldn't do that so he kept it up. That's a lot of ammonia and nutrients to dump in a small stream. I haven't been back to fish it in years, but that stream turned to brown mud and there were no more small mouth or musky in it.

The larger river has turned brown from farm runoff. Mainly fertilizer but also cattle concentrated on the sides of the river. The water (when I was a kid a long time ago) had been crystal clear. The fishing has gone bad along with the water quality.

There is some education going on that wil some day do some good.

:-[

Grey Wolf reply :

As stated earlier , crap kills and if anyone thinks that's , so be it.

firefightn15 reply :

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As stated earlier , crap kills and if anyone thinks that's , so be it.

X2 My local reservoir, which is small in comparison to most, suffered a huge loss last year due to low water levels and higher than normal nitrates from excessive run off

grimlin reply :

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Depends on the amount of run off. Yes, it can kill the fish.

This is correct....I seen it first hand when i was a kid.I completely destroy a little river/creek.

Raul reply :

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It would take a lot of run off to kill fish.

It depends on the size of the body of water.

It 's a matter of proportions, a lot of manure in a small body of water can kill the fish in a matter of days, as it decomposes causes oxygen depravation and the fish die due to the lack of oxygen.

Sure manure ( cow, horse, goat, sheep, swine, chicken ) can and is used as pond fertilizer but there 's certain amount you can use depending on the type of manure ( X lbs per square ft ) and every certain times at every certain schedule.

How good is manure as fertilizer, great in the right proportions. You can in certain cases and places see the benefits of that kind of fertilization. For example, a couple of hours drive from my home town there 's this town called Tepatitlán, not far from Tepa there are two lakes about the same size, both have the same species of fish: tilapia, carp, minnows, bluegills and bass; one grows monster size fish the other one doesn 't, the difference between both is not in the gene pool but in the environmental conditions, the one that grows moster fish is surrounded by chicken and swine farms, the other one isn 't, the manure piles are just there outside the farm houses, so when it rains manure runs into the lake fertilizing it ---> lots of plankton = lots of food.

Wayne P. reply :

Just remember this: If you have MOO, you will have POO ;D

Missouribassman95 reply :

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Just remember this: If you have MOO, you will have POO ;D

HAHA very true

Fishing Rhino reply :

A friend of mine puts it this way.

BS Little Beaver, BS.

The BS makes the green grass grow. The green grass makes the BS.

banned for spamming reply :

As a rule... most anything un-natural (cows have huge amounts of steriods) introduced into a body of water is a bad thing.

tyrius. reply :

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Never thought of that, but given the amount of hormones, antibiotics, etc that most livestock are injected with, it makes perfect sense...

That has nothing to do with it. The benefit is from the nitrogen in the crap. This "fertilizes" the water which enhances algae growth, which creates more food for the bottom of the food chain. This allows the water to support more food for the bass so they can grow larger.

However, a severe run off can kill the entire lake.

Raul reply :

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Never thought of that, but given the amount of hormones, antibiotics, etc that most livestock are injected with, it makes perfect sense...

That has nothing to do with it. The benefit is from the nitrogen in the crap. This "fertilizes" the water which enhances algae growth, which creates more food for the bottom of the food chain. This allows the water to support more food for the bass so they can grow larger.

However, a severe run off can kill the entire lake.

oteymc reply :

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It would take a lot of run off to kill fish.

It depends on the size of the body of water.

It 's a matter of proportions, a lot of manure in a small body of water can kill the fish in a matter of days, as it decomposes causes oxygen depravation and the fish die due to the lack of oxygen.

Sure manure ( cow, horse, goat, sheep, swine, chicken ) can and is used as pond fertilizer but there 's certain amount you can use depending on the type of manure ( X lbs per square ft ) and every certain times at every certain schedule.

How good is manure as fertilizer, great in the right proportions. You can in certain cases and places see the benefits of that kind of fertilization. For example, a couple of hours drive from my home town there 's this town called Tepatitlán, not far from Tepa there are two lakes about the same size, both have the same species of fish: tilapia, carp, minnows, bluegills and bass; one grows monster size fish the other one doesn 't, the difference between both is not in the gene pool but in the environmental conditions, the one that grows moster fish is surrounded by chicken and swine farms, the other one isn 't, the manure piles are just there outside the farm houses, so when it rains manure runs into the lake fertilizing it ---> lots of plankton = lots of food.

I agree, that is what I was trying to say. It would take a high concentration in proportion to the body of water.

Too much of anything is bad. Every environment requires balance.

firefightn15 reply :

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That has nothing to do with it. The benefit is from the nitrogen in the crap. This "fertilizes" the water which enhances algae growth, which creates more food for the bottom of the food chain. This allows the water to support more food for the bass so they can grow larger.However, a severe run off can kill the entire lake.

I cited this instance on the first page of this thread and have several very saddening pictures that shows what excessive run of does

hogrustler reply :

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What would cow runoff do to a fishery? Would it kill the fish?

I believe the answer would be yes it is possible if the conditions were right. However, there are alot of variables to consider so I would not say it would kill fish in every case.

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It depends on the size of the body of water.
It 's a matter of proportions, a lot of manure in a small body of water can kill the fish in a matter of days, as it decomposes causes oxygen depravation and the fish die due to the lack of oxygen.

With that I would agree. along with dangerous ammonia levels.

I also assume cow runoff means the cattle have no access to the water. If they do then its not cow runoff but instead a cow jacuzzi and that's a whole different problem.

firefightn15 reply :

Runoff in my area is the 1000's of gallons of liquid manure farmers pump onto the fields adjacent to waterways without respect to how much the soil can actually absorb and sustain. It's worse in the winter months when they are spreading on frozen tundra and there is no seeping, just one straight shot to the local water sources.

tyrius. reply :

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Runoff in my area is the 1000's of gallons of liquid manure farmers pump onto the fields adjacent to waterways without respect to how much the soil can actually absorb and sustain. It's worse in the winter months when they are spreading on frozen tundra and there is no seeping, just one straight shot to the local water sources.

Here's an article from WI (your state) about it.

http://wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=34685

Farmers that do this should be held responsible for their actions. They know exactly what they're doing and what the risks are before they spread.

Fishing Cowgirl reply :

Bear in mind that lawns are fertilized with Cow manure and the drainage systems running from the streets to lakes and ponds.

Raul reply :

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With that I would agree. along with dangerous ammonia levels.

Wasn 't going to get too technical, oxygen depravation is caused by:

1.- Reduced oxygen content in the water as the bacteria use it to decompose manure

2.- High ammonia levels, ammonia causes swelling of the gills, the fish can 't breathe propely and oxygenate their blood because the gills are swollen.

3.- Ammonia is transformed into nitrite by nitrifying bacteria, nitrite enters the bloodstream through the gill capillaries and binds to the hemoglobin in the red blood cells transforming it into metahemoglobin which is incapable of binding to oxygen causing anoxia, cells die, ultimately the fish dies.

4.- Doesn 't cause oxygen depravation but very low oxygen levels can create anaerobic conditions and anaerobic bacteria create H2S which is also toxic.

So, too much of a good thing can also be bad ( or worse ).

firefightn15 reply :

This is a short article about the recent fish kill on my local flowage:

http://dnr.wi.gov/news/BreakingNews_Lookup.asp?id=1162

ww2farmer reply :

There are alot of ignorant statements beeing thrown around in this thread. I live in the heart of WNY dairy land, and used to be a dairy farmer, before we sold the cows and became a crop only farm. My local lake has about dozens of large farms in it's watershed, with a 100,000+ cows making manure, and that manure applied to the land that drains into that watershed. Runoff is enevitable, farmers can't controll the weather. Manure needs to be applied to the land for fertilizer, and most farms do it in an environmentaly sound manner. They incorperate it in to the soil ASAP, the don't put it on heavy, if at all next to drains, ditchs, or feeder streams. And they are only allowed to put on a limited amount of manure as dictated by soil needs/run off potential set by there there KAFO plan. Yet runoff still happens.

Since runoff is unavoidable, I would rather have manure, than comercial fert. Manure in the ammounts that runoff now, and now that farmers are educated, and concerned about, is doing little harm. The manure actualy gets used by the lakes biomass, plankton, vegetation, etc...

firefightn15 reply :

WW2farmer-

I'm not sure as to whom you are referring but I grew up in the ag/dairy industry. Speaking strictly of my instance, when I use the term excessive I talk about specific farms who deluge fields with 2, 3, and 4 times the amount of liquid cow manure than that particular field can handle. Incorporating the manure into the soil only works if the farm does it to begin with and that is hard to do in the dead of winter. One of my local farms was sued in civil court and fined $30,000.00 after an environmentally sound farmer sent his run off down my neighbor's back yard, through her driveway, and fill the top half of her pond.

To get a bit off topic, some of these free stall farms have the herd to produce 10's of thousands of pounds of milks per week or even in a day. On occasion the problem is that they have no reasonable venue to get rid of all the waste; they run out of holding space and places to go.

Obviously we are not speaking of the "mom and pop" farms who run the honey wagon out once or twice a day but the large farms who have eaten up the local farms and still haven't the room to sustain their herd size. I see it first hand 2 miles up the road as well as other places within 15 minutes of me.

Including my own, I see terms such as excessive, severe, and high concentration when comments were posed on this topic and there is nothing ignorant about that.

I agree completely with your last comments and that most of the farming community is conscience of their fertilizing activity and these fine folks are not who I take issue with. "All it takes is one bad apple" is the old saying and it holds true.

If you were referring to any of my comments or posts, I hope this clarifies my point of view. 8-)

tyrius. reply :

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and most farms do it in an environmentaly sound manner. They incorperate it in to the soil ASAP, the don't put it on heavy, if at all next to drains, ditchs, or feeder streams. And they are only allowed to put on a limited amount of manure as dictated by soil needs/run off potential set by there there KAFO plan. Yet runoff still happens.

Yep, most are responsible. But, there are always a few who will give the many a bad name.

I grew up helping my uncle on his dairy farm. I've dragged a manure spreader through the field and watched liquid manure fly through the air. He had a creek that ran through the back of his farm. We didn't ever spread near that creek. Which means that he was being responsible and it's not at all likely that runoff from one of his fields would cause a fish kill. Other farmers spread right up to the waters edge and likely right into it. Now, should that farmer not be held responsible for his actions?

hogrustler reply :

Thanks for puttin out that fire, firefightn15

Casca reply :

cow runoff? sorry to hear your bovine ran off. hope you find it.

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