[Carlhole]

Manure 'Smells Like Money' As Energy Costs Rise

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Science Daily', 'W')ith energy prices driving the cost of agricultural inputs up, nutrient-rich manure is getting another look.

"As manure gains value, it is likely to be used more efficiently and effectively. There's a potential for increased revenue for animal feeding operations," he said...

Though MSU Extension and conservation professionals have taught for years that manure can be a valuable asset, it's often written it off as a difficult-to-manage byproduct with cumbersome regulations.

Now, with fertilizer prices hovering at $1,000 per ton, the nitrogen and other nutrients in manure look more gold than brown.

Bass said that a ton of manure contains between $30 to $40 dollars worth of nutrients for the soil, though they're not all available the first year.

[kuidaskassikaeb]

This actually has been done repeatedly. Raw sewage is not usable on organic farms because of its content of heavy metals. Unfortunately, sewage is not just shit, it contains everything people throw down the toilet. Not all of which is removed by sewage treatment plants. This really should change in the future if we want to have a sustainable world, but right now I think it is only used to reclaim old strip mines.

[Fishman]

Passing those heavy metals is tough work.

[jdmartin]

I used to work for a town where the liquid waste was in fact irrigated onto fields (beyond what didn't evaporate). However, the fields could not be used to grow anything for human consumption. Solids were left behind via settling ponds and were later pumped for drying and shipping to the landfill. It took an amazing amount of land to irrigate all that sewage water.

Because of the human diet and the contents of sewage (ever been in a sewage treatment plant and observed the filter screens?) - everything from automotive chemicals to pharmaceuticals - I would not knowingly eat food fertilized with human sewage, treated or not. Now, natural, unaltered livestock manure is a whole different story.

[Cochise]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jdmartin', '
')Because of the human diet and the contents of sewage (ever been in a sewage treatment plant and observed the filter screens?) - everything from automotive chemicals to pharmaceuticals - I would not knowingly eat food fertilized with human sewage, treated or not. Now, natural, unaltered livestock manure is a whole different story.

[jdmartin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cochise', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jdmartin', '
')Because of the human diet and the contents of sewage (ever been in a sewage treatment plant and observed the filter screens?) - everything from automotive chemicals to pharmaceuticals - I would not knowingly eat food fertilized with human sewage, treated or not. Now, natural, unaltered livestock manure is a whole different story.