The Hot New Trend: Manure

[ckramer]

Source: npr

Chemical fertilizer has tripled in price in the past year. And farmers are returning to the old ways: spreading manure on their fields instead of treating it as a worthless byproduct.

Some farmers are finding they can make more profit using their beef cattle to produce manure than they'd make on their meat; others are looking for new ways to maximize the "output" of their livestock, including investing in expensive equipment to capture methane in a chicken house.

Meanwhile, the growing ranks of organic produce farmers are suddenly finding that their manure suppliers will no longer supply them.

Read more: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90590308

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[BeatleBoot]

1. GD: P is a Major Producer!

Go dung, go!

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

37. LOL thats a DUZY!

good one.

[LisaM]

2. With all the home gardening trends starting up.....

I told my coworkers, who were all excitedly discussing what they're planting at lunch today, that come August, I'm going to sit back and wait for the bounty to roll in!

It'll be like the good old days when you'd walk into the break room in July and there'd be five bushels of tomatoes and zucchini sitting there for the taking.

[morningglory]

12. Chicken and rabbit poops in my kitchen garden! n/t

[midnight]

3. Those chemical fertilizers are not superior to mother nature.

[Bigmack]

4. Of course, we're ignoring a huge source...

for energy and fertilizer. Human waste.. humanure!

[LisaM]

5. Did you ever read that Zola book where there was a village woman

who did just that? In translation, she was called Mama Caca.

[tpsbmam]

7. OK, shut up.....just shut the hell up......

Do NOT give my neighbors any ideas! :rofl:

(See my post below about the stinky around me this spring. LOL)

[tama]

9. True

Urine is excellent fertilizer and should be collected and used - hows that for a business idea?

As for the solids, compost outhouses are old invention. It's the city systems that really waste our waste.

[Trillo]

34. Ventura County California is alleged as rabidly Anti-Greywater.

However, you might consider forgetting about a greywater system if you
live in Ventura County and are not about to do anything without a
permit. The head of the health dept is especially rabidly
anti-greywater down there. If you take it on, it will probably be an
experience somewhat like Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the
bus for a white person; we'd all be grateful, but it will be a lot of
work.

http://www.oasisdesign.net/faq/gwlegalityventura.htm

It seems to me that city water departments that I've experienced charge unreasonable amounts for sewage disposal, these charges are linked to total water usage, in spite of whatever percentage of that water you place in your garden (and which doesn't go down the sewer pipe). Incidentally, this gives farmers, who have no sewer connection, a decided economic advantage versus city lot owners who may wish to have a food-producing landscape design.

Consequently, composting toilets are interesting from a recycling standpoint, as one may be able to disconnect from the sewer system entirely. They may not be legal in all areas (I don't know). I would guess any city could simply pass a law requiring a sewage connection to every toilet and disallowing composting toilets as an owner's option, the municipalities, which often run water districts (and sewage disposal) can boost their operating revenues.

It would be nice if I was wrong. More and more I'm hearing about recycling, but the consumer of services never seems to get an economic benefit from the various municipality services that are implementing recycling systems. Instead, they charge us to collect our sewage and kitchen sink water, then treat it, and turn around and sell the recycled product again. They charge us to collect our yard debris and they compost it, (or potentially use it for cellulostic ethanol), but if we want compost, we have to buy it at the yard-supply center.

In these cases, while the goal of recycling is laudable, the implementation of it is obviously being overseen by MBAs from our finest Institutions of Higher Greed.

Found this after posting:
http://www.compostingtoilet.org/

[ben_meyers]

10. I've been using Milorganite for over 40 years.

http://www.milorganite.com/about/history.cfm

[Jackpine Radical]

11. Ever hear of Milorganite?

The City of Milwaukee has been processing its sewage sludge and selling it as a high-grade fertilizer since the 1920's. Google and learn.

[John Q. Citizen]

13. High in heavy metals. Not recommended for food crops. We have a company

in Missoula that uses sewage composted with plants and produces compost thats good for landscaping.

[Megahurtz]

28. People shit eeeewwwwww!

:silly:

[dysfunctional press]

31. farmers do use it- have you ever seen tomato plants in the middle of a corn field?

that's why.

when i was working on the addition to our town's sewage treatment plant- there were trucks that picked up the dried sludge for use as fertilizer.

as for the tomatoes- tomato seeds are still viable after passing thru the digestive system- one of the tanks we pumped out to work on had a whole bunch of tomato plants growing in the bottom of the tank thru the summer.

[tpsbmam]

6. I live in farm country -- have one next door and about 4 nearby....

and I can attest that for the first time this spring, eeeeewwwwwwwwww......they were ALL using manure at the same time. Mind you, I like like being around animals and like most of the smells. I love the smell of horses! But god knows how many tons of manure later.....my neighbor damn near had a pickup truck accident he got laughing so hard when he looked in the rearview mirror and saw the WTF is that stench expression on his one-year-old's face.

That said, I'll take it! I'll take the natural farming measures any day over some of the chemicals they use.

[John Q. Citizen]

14. If they use Tordon to control noxious weeds (horse pasture) it kills all broad leaf

plants, even after it's been composted.

Very persistent.

[hedgehog]

15. Cow manure and horse manure can have a sort of attractive

smell if it's not too strong and you're not the one shoveling



BUT


there is no recovery ever from PIG manure!

[SmokingJacket]

38. I actually kind of like the smell of chicken shit...

I have 20 chickens... clean out the henhouse every day, throw in fresh straw... really, it's a great earthy smell.

I've heard that agri-business chicken farms smell like hell, though.

[SpiralHawk]

18. They need to compost the manure

before spreading...

[doodadem]

25. Correct

I have several areas around the ranch where we compost horse, donkey, goat, and chicken manure, along with the wood shavings they're bedded on, soiled hay, etc. You just keep adding more on top, and when you need some to spread, you dig down a little to the rich, decomposed, black stuff. We also don't have much of a problem with flies, because we feed diatomaceous earth to all of these guys (google it--wonderful stuff!)

Fresh manure is too "hot", and should not be used. It will burn your plants up. Also, definitely do NOT use any that comes from a meat-eating animal--dogs, cats, humans. It's about worthless as fertilizer, and too disease-ridden. You have to be somewhat careful in the summer, as the composting process causes alot of heat, and your manure pile can actually catch fire. But it also kills out parasites. Be especially careful with cow manure, as it can harbor e coli for quite some time.

We really don't have much smell at all. Very dry climate here. I always have gorgeous vegetable and flower gardens, and landscaping.

[awoke_in_2003]

19. Dude, I am a city dweller

and would much rather have a couple days of smelling cow shit than have to spend all year smelling car exhaust. If you live in the country, you have the benefit of knowing everyone you buy your food from. Much better than buying questionable produce here in the city.

[Zuiderelle]

29. I used to live in a farm area... that sickening sweet but rank smell still stays with me to this day

x(

[Bozita]

8. Maybe now my 110 lb. Rottie can earn enough to pay for her own food.

All I need are some bags and a shovel.

[raccoon]

24. I've heard that dog and cat manure doesn't work well as a fertilizer. nt

[Trillo]

40. Probably a good idea to add a sterilization step to the composting process.

Composting typically creates heat as carbon is broken down to nitrogen. However, sometimes compost piles don't heat up enough (this is mostly a matter of technique and experience).

A solar oven comes to mind.... as a final step to kill any pathogens that may exist in carni- and omni-vorous manures.

Edit:

Health Concerns etc.

Be aware that dogs can transmit diseases to humans. Whether petting a dog or shoveling dog waste into a compost bin, recognize this problem. Health risks vary depending on the climate, so ask a local veteriniarian to recommend a parasite control program suitable for your area. All compost contains mold and fungus spores which may cause an allergic response in sensitive individuals.

Although there are many potential pathogens, the primary agents for disease are roundworm eggs. They are too small to see with the human eye. Dogs become infected with roundworms by swallowing the eggs in soil where other dogs have defecated. Female dogs can also pass on roundworms to their puppies. The eggs hatch in the dogs intestine, migrate through the liver and lungs and return to mature in the intestine. The adult roundworm lays eggs which are passed onto the soil, completing the life cycle. If humans ingest the eggs, they hatch in the intestine and migrate to other body tissue; like lungs, liver, spinal cord. The larvae can even attack the retinas in the eye.

In certain geographical areas, other parasites may also be a problem. The life cycles are similar to roundworms and disease transmission can be avoided by not coming in contact with the eggs. The tapeworm alternates between two hosts, usually a dog and a rodent, during its life cycle. One tapeworm, (Enchinococcus sp.), found in remote regions, can produce life-threatening cysts, if ingested.

http://www.uaf.edu/coop-ext/compost/dogs.html

[gristy]

16. "Horse manure's not that bad. I don't even mind the word manure.

It's newer, which is good, and a ma in front of it. Ma-Newer. When you consider the other choices, manure is actually pretty refreshing."
- George, in "The Soup"

[japple]

17. Dry, composted animal manure is just dandy, but a couple

of my neighbors fertilized their hay fields with green chicken manure earlier this year, and it smelled to high heaven for weeks. The day they spread the stuff, a huge flock of buzzards came and landed in the fields, and hopped around for awhile to check it out. At least I could keep my doors and windows closed, but I gagged whenever I walked to the mailbox or had to go near there for any reason. Of course my dog had to go over there and roll around in it. It took 2 baths to get the smell out, and, fortunately, she didn't go back over there again because she hates being bathed.

[skoalyman]

21. To bad we can't get the manure out of the

oval office ;)

[Lone_Star_Dem]

20. Finally! A use for all the bullshit the Republicans spread!

I knew their party had to have some value to the world. :)

[Berry Cool]

22. This is just one form of biofuel, and they are hot.

Expect to see more and more efforts to convert waste to energy.

Speaking of manure, though, I don't know what my apartment complex uses out front for its flower bedding, but it's the worst smelling stuff known to mankind. Has the improbable odor combination of sweet, spicy barbecue sauce combined with human excrement. Never smelled anything so bad in my life, and they come out with it every spring.

ed: typo

[lapfog_1]

23. The grass is always greener over the

septic tank.

the corn is always higher too.


Honestly, I grew up on a horse ranch. I shoveled tons of the stuff out of the barn and from around the pasture and we would let it dry a bit, break it into smaller chunks, spread it over our 2 acre garden, and then plow it under (with a horse drawn plow!). Then, disc it or rototill it, water it, and plant our garden. Made for some of the richest soil you can imagine. Always had a bumper crop of corn, tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, squash, melons, beans...

[puerco-bellies]

26. Composted human waste makes excellent fertilzer: The composting toilet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBZwOqLJvBA

[Vinca]

27. We bought an old farm once and planted a garden over a place

where pigs had been kept for years in a pen. The corn grew to 12 - 15 feet high with giant ears. It was amazing. The best garden we've ever had. I remember an old timer driving by and yelling out his car window "Corn's too high."

[galledgoblin]

30. sucks that supplies are low

but I'm also glad to hear that we're moving back to sustainable methods!

hopefully we will see CAFO practices come to an end within the next 20 years as farmers begin to reintegrate free-range livestock and poultry into standard use.

[Mountainman]

32. I have a hell of a mound of horse shit back in the mountains I'd sell!

[newfie11]

39. Hell I have tons and I will give it away.

[AnnieBW]

33. My mom used it on our garden all of the time

One time she joked with the little boy next door that she had a horse in our garage that made all of the manure.

Another good option is mushroom manure. It's manure that mushrooms have been grown in. Doesn't stink as much.

[silverweb]

35. And then there's WORM POOP.

For us city dwellers, a self-contained, odorless worm farm transforms kitchen scraps into organic fertilizer: http://wormswrangler.com.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

36. will they put less chicken poop in pet food then?

ever notice "poutry digest" in the ingrediants of some pet food?