The scope of decision support system (DSS) for manure management systems is presented with the limits and the capacities of DSS that work on personal computers. Plain spreadsheets with data stored in templates or in database programs provide information and different results that still have to be analyzed in order to find the appropriate solution to a particular situation. As for expert systems, the system asks for limited inputs and the treatment of that information along with information included in the system will be analyzed and a choice of solutions is generally made by the computer program. A more sophisticated program will present more choices and the solutions presented are more synthesized. For manure management, the following aspects should be addressed: – labor for manure collection and handling; – odour from storage and spreading; – nutrients efficiency and losses sources; – a all stages, environmental aspects; – costs of those steps on and off the farm. The desired technical features that have to be considered and included in a manure DSS and also the programming features that should be included in a DSS are presented. Different DSS from Canada, the U.S. and Europe are presented and their characteristics, features and also shortcomings are also discussed.
General information is given on the way DSS work and also on the way they can be used and integrated in decision making. A good review of the software and DSS available is also made.