Sleigh-foot application of slurry manure is the best method for applying slurry manure on many forage fields. This study was designed to assess agronomic effectiveness of multi-year surface banding of dairy slurry on a sward of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.). Our study showed that with this application technology, crop recovery of total-N from applied manure in the long-term is only about 77% that of mineral fertilizer. Despite relative inefficiency of N uptake from manure, yield response to manure equaled that to fertilizer at equivalent total-N rates although N-recovery was significantly lower. About 26-32% of applied manure-N was stored in soil organic matter and the buildup of soil-N was related to application rate of organic N. At moderate applications rates (approx. 400 kg N ha(-1) a(-1)), soil N accumulated at about 120 kg ha(-1) annually compared to 98 kg ha-1 a-1 of unaccounted N, much of that probably volatilized and denitrified. Alternating between manure and fertilizer improved productivity per unit land area without increasing the rate of N non-recovery per unit of feed produced. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.