I think you have found partially composted manure, very high in nitrogen content. Your berries seem to like this stuff, so why not keep using it on your berry crop 'till its gone? With regard to composting grass clippings and horse bedding, it would help to do this composting in a pit. That would keep the moisture level up, and speed the process.

I'm not sure why it would kill the grass like had been said it could be very high nitrogen but that would be odd in pile of well aged manure that you described I would definalty use it all up though!

As far a your current piles when you get some leaves this fall mix them in and it shoulf heat up for you what you have there is all high green material except the shavings which are not bad but a little slow to break down so no need to add grass clippings at all I never do they belong in the grass

What you will need is some brown type material leaves straw ect if you search browns on here there are whole posts about differnt options

My current pile is manure mixed with everybit of paper cardboard and kitchen scraps that come out of 3 households and a business it has been getting nice and warm that way I don't shred any of that just get it a little wet and throw it under the manure so it doesn't blow around

Happy composting

As to the grass, you probably smothered it. If you did not sweep the compost into the turf but left it on top, that's what happened. Everyone makes that mistake (at least) once, ahem.

Without water, your compost might not finish for decades. Where do you live?

Knowing some old time farmers around here, there is no way I would speculate what was placed into/onto that pile! Could be anything and not all of it may have been good for composting.

As far as your piles, if they are dry, they will be extremly slow to compost fully.

Lloyd

I live in Arkansas, I used up all of the compost really quick, the one that burned the weeds and grass and I really want more, I was thinking perhaps that he mixed the finished compost with a lot of nitrogen then mixed the pile up. I sure wish I could get that recipe!!!
When I clean the stalls every morning now, I have been loading it all in the bucket of the tractor then watering down all the stuff taken out of the stall, perhaps this will cure the problem of not having water at the site.
I know that you can go to some of the nurseries here in Arkansas and purchase what they call supersoil, when asked what is in it, they just say the dump all leftover fertilizer and remainder of everything they remove from a finished landscaping job so no telling what is in it?

I appreciate your replies....

How deep was this material that you put on the grass? If you covered the grass blades so they had no access to sunlight the grass would die since all plants need access to sunlight to manufacture the nutrients they need to grow.

you may be right Kimmer, however some of the blades of the grass were exposed to the sun but yellowed then died. How bad would it be if I took the completed compost then added nitrogen before I put it under the plants? I really did like the burnout of the weeds.