What national resource are we wasting away at an alarming rate? Oil, you might say. Perhaps. Try manure.[Listen to the 2-minute audio article by subscribing to my podcast feed -- so you can open the attachment below -- or simply listen to the mp3 file now by clicking here]. Otherwise, heck, just keep on reading...
A small fraction, an estimated 10 percent of the nutrients in manure ever find their way back to agricultural lands. Considering there are more than 300 million farm animals in the country, and that a single hog, for example, will produce more than 3,000 pounds of manure each year, the amount of wasted waste is horrendous.
Not long ago, our food was raised primarily on the traditional family farm, a self-contained unit with a balance of crops and livestock. The livestock ate farm-produced grains and grass, and the farmland was enriched with the animals’ manure.
With changes in food production practices and the advent of synthetic fertilizer in the 1930's, many farmers stopped using manure. What’s more, most livestock is now raised in giant feedlots. Consequently, the nitrogen-rich manure has created ecological problems and health hazards, instead of contributing to agriculture.
The good news: Organic practices are coming back, and farmers and home gardeners are rediscovering the benefits of manure as a fertilizer, soil conditioner and compost ingredient.
Manure comes in all shapes and sizes: fresh or dried, bagged or by the tankful, as the German village of Elsa recently learned when a tank containing liquid pig manure burst and flooded the town with the fertilizer burst. The layer of green-brown liquid rose to almost two feet in the village’s courtyards and streets. I bet the Edelweiss will be extra pretty this summer!
RESOURCES:
"Rodale's Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening", and the "Complete Book of Composting" (both books published by Rodale Press)
Manure Matters: How Different Manures Rate and How to Use Them (Article by Marion Owen)
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