We're getting a huge amount of nitrogen and salts from their manure pile. Since the dairy industry is sending salt and nitrogen downstream, it should help pay for dealing with the problem, says Mills. But the public is starting to perceive that agribusiness is less like farming these days and more like manufacturing. Fish kills and the stench wafting from 100,000-strong pig farms are strong enough to guarantee the passage of more restrictive measures, even in leading hog states like Iowa. N.Y. There isn't any waste management system that will work without a market-based approach, he says.
Animal waste is different than municipal waste or industrial waste and has to be treated as such.
Even on the farm, solids content varies greatly, depending on the species and on how much water is used to muck out quarters. On dairy farms, grit quickly wears out pumps and pipes. It promotes innovative agricultural waste management approaches. While anaerobic digestion might work for dairy or hog wastes, pelletizing would be better for drier poultry manure. Joint venture partner AgriRecycle Inc., Springfield, Mo., will manage collection and market the product to Midwest farmers.