Management of cattle manure compost, awareness of maturity testing, and distribution by barn size in Hanwoo farms of Gyeongbuk Province

This study surveyed 60 Hanwoo cattle farms in Gyeongbuk Province to see how compost management, awareness of maturity tests, and distribution differ by barn size.Data were first divided by barn area, and frequency counts and chi-square tests were used to check differences between size groups.Most farms did not keep proper compost management records, and when they did, they were mostly handwritten.Only some big farms used computers.For compost storage and management, compost was usually kept in inside-barn or on-farm compost sheds, and 56.7% of farms answered that they wanted additional storage facilities.Bigger farms knew more about maturity testing, sampling and recognition level of test agency but smaller farms showed low awareness.Transport of compost was more often done by farmland owner when barn size was bigger.On the other hand, in the small groups the share of self-transport was relatively higher.Compost was mostly given for free; large farms spread it on their own land, while small farms moved it to other fields.These results show that compost work, testing action, and distribution differ by size.Small farms need help for record keeping, ICT use, and linking compost with regional nutrient needs, so livestock compost can be used as a useful resource, not as waste.