Veterinarians, pet shops and animal shelters have used paper bedding for small animals. Since then, numerous state dairy farmers, beef producers, horse owners and poultry farmers have used newspapers for bedding under various conditions. Research has been funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Other states also have conducted studies on newsprint bedding. Researchers encountered no apparent problems with animal health or milk quality in feeding studies where dairy cows ate as much as 1.8-2.4 pounds per head daily.
Fields fertilized with used newsprint bedding also show no ill effects.
Tests on field soil in Potter County showed lower levels of heavy metals from newsprint bedding than from conventional straw bedding. Field tests at the University of Florida found that newsprint bedding will absorb almost twice as much water as straw bedding. The University of Vermont tested water absorbency rates of ground newspaper at four to six times greater than dry sawdust, and ten times greater than straw or hay. Farmers who have used shredded paper report that it lasts up to twice as long as straw. The paper in the manure mixture decomposes rapidly when spread on fields.