Research Summary Kenneth R. Farrell , UC Vice President for the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources summarized the conference' s research results at the program's conclusion. He noted that many of the California agriculture animal systems use non-edible forage to make food. In addition to their own value as food producers, their byproducts include manure, which can be both a fertilizer and a pollutant. The conference identified several approaches to the use and disposal of that manure. Site specificity is very important to the manure's use and disposal, as no two areas are alike.
Technologies are available to turn manure's potential detriments into benefits.
Priority problem areas include nitrate and salt contamination of water, runoff into surface water, and sedimentation. Regulatory alternatives include voluntary solutions, voluntary with economic incentives, and farmers and ranchers internalizing the cost. He noted that exporting manure from some areas of the state is necessary, and determining how to make that economically feasible with transportation is a challenge. Farrell reiterated that technologies from other states are not readily or obviously adaptable to California, thus there is a need here for research and information dissemination. In the first part of this series, incorrect figures were given for the amount of manure produced daily by the 300 million agricultural animals in California.