Composting Promises Poultry Industry Effective Waste Disposal
NEWARK, DE A study con
ducted by Drs. J. Thomas Sims of
Ae University of Delaware and
■tennis Murphy and Thomas
Tlandweiker of die University of
Maryland suggests that compost
ing is an effective means for poul
try producers to stabilize manure
and dispose of dead poultry. Sims
presented the results of his
research at the annual meetings of
the American Society of Agro
nomy, the Crop Science Society of
America, and the Soil Science
Society of America, held last
month in Las Vegas, Nev.
According to Sims, professor of
soil science at the University of
Delaware, “The poultry industry
on the Itelmarva peninsula cur
rently faces two critical waste
management issues environ
mentally safe management of
poultry manure to avoid nitrate
Bmtamination of groundwaters
and disposal of poultry carcasses
resulting from disease or environ
mental stress.”
An on-farm composting pro-
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.)
—Penn State’s exhibit at the 1990
Pennsylvania Farm Show will
include information on how inte
grated pest management programs
and crop management associa
tions are helping to take the guess
work out of farming.
The exhibit will feature the
cooperative efforts of the Pennsyl
vania Department of Agriculture
and Penn State’s College of Agri
culture on integrated pest manage
ment education. College of Agri
culture faculty and representatives
of the Pennsylvania Crop Man
;ement Association will discuss
Programs designed to improve the
efficiency of farming, save resour
ces and minimize pollution of our
streams and groundwater. -
Want To Increase Production, Butterfat,
Profit?
Benefits:
• Greater Milk Production
• Increased Feed Efficiency
• Increased Performance From
Roughage Due To Increased
Cellulose Digestion
"We have been using Fertrell's feeding program with our milking herd for
the past 2 years and we can say it’s the best program we have ever used. Our
production has increased, along with a 2 point jump in butterfat test. Herd
health has been much better. Udder edema in our fresh cows has been reduced
and we have been able to breed our cows back with increased efficiency.
Kore J. Peachey
Milroy, PA
"FertrelV s Rum-Cult 40 has really helped our herd maintain a desirable but
terfat test throughout the year, even when feed changes were made! Our cows
do well under the stress conditions of high production. Herd health improved
when we started following Fertrell program Digestive problems decreased and
our breeding efficiency improved
t
cess developed by Murphy at the
University of Maryland/Eastem
Shore uses poultry manure and
various carbon sources to success
fully and rapidly dispose of dead
poultry.
‘The end result is a compost
much like that produced in any
backyard compost pile. It may be
used in the production of corn,
small grains and horticultural
crops,” Sims says. “Composting
could provide the poultry industry
with a relatively inexpensive solu
tion to the growing waste disposal
problem.”
The composting process
appears to stabilize the manure.
The process reduces the rate of
nitrogen release and the potential
for groundwater contamination
from excess nitrogen levels asso
ciated with the rapid decomposi
tion of poultry manure in soils.
The researchers conducted a
40-week study to determine the
rate and extent of nitrogen release
from 24 poultry composts. The
composts were prepared using
Penn State Exhibits Crop
The Pennsylvania Crop Man
agement Association is dedicated
to developing, coordinating and
promoting the crop management
activities of the state’s crop man
agement associations. These asso
ciations assist farmers in imple
menting economically sound and
environmentally safe crop produc
tion practices.
Farmers require a great deal of
information to make sound crop
management decisions. Obtaining
the right information at the right
time and interpreting it correctly is
critical to growing crops efficient
ly for a profit Crop management
associations hire personnel to
scout members’ fields for insects,
weeds and diseases; sample soil,
manure and plant tissue; provide
and Bottomline
Rumi-Cult 40 By
Try
What Area Farmers Have To Say...
Here’s
three carbon to nitrogen ratios.
“Carbon to nitrogen ratios,
important in the control of com
post decomposition in soils,” says
Sims, “were similar for composts
and manures, ranging from 16:1 to
23:1.”
The study indicates that com
posting reduces the percentage of
organic nitrogen converted to a
plant-available form to less than
30 percent, which is 20 percent
less converted nitrogen than that
produced by manure.
The study also indicates that the
amount of nitrogen released can
be controlled by the choice of car
bon sources. Researchers mea
sured levels of nitrogen produced
using barley straw and recycled
wastepaper as carbon sources. The
percentage of nitrogen released
from wastepaper composts aver
aged 20 percent, compared with
27 percent for straw composts and
an average of 45 percent for the
two manures tested.
management recommendations
and evaluate and plan manage
ment practices.
“Crop management associa
tions have been promoting sound
management practices for over 10
years,” said Jan Pruss, state coor
dinator of the program. These
associations have helped more
than 400 member farmers with
more than 71,000 acres, increase
profits and reduce unnecessary
fertilizers and pesticides.
Pruss said, Penn State provides
a number of services to the associ
ations, including workshops and
technical training for crop man
agement personnel. The College
of Agriculture also provides tech
nical manuals, newsletters, week
ly seasonal crop pest summaries
• Higher Fat Tests
• Faster Gain
• Increased Reproduction
Efficiency
Linus Sharp
Belleville, PA
'S'dOO
J 3
\ v
hA
j<3oo
m2OO
£ 100
The graph indicates how the amount of nitrogen released
from manures can be controlled by the choice of carbon
sources. Much of the nitrogen in excess of the corn uptake
may eventually find Its way Into groundwater. Nitrogen pro
duced by compost using poultry manure from total clean
out (PM—TCO) as a carbon source is consistently exces
sive. The amount produced by crusted poultry manure
(PM—C) compost is excessive for about the first 10 weeks.
Excessive nitrogen released by compost using wastepaper
(refuse-derived fuel or RDF) or straw Is minimal and limited
to the first six or seven weeks.
Management
and computer hardware and
software.
“Most recently the college has
developed crop management
record keeping and database sys
tems for CMA members to docu
ment field observations and cul
tural and chemical cropping prac
tices,” said Pruss. “Easy to
understand reports, generated
from the database, summarize by
acre, field and crop, the pounds of
FertrelL.
"We started using Fertrell's Rumi-Cult 40 in June of 1987 and have been
very happy with the results ... Their knowledge about nutrition has helped us
immensely. I appreciate the honest straight forward approach to helping us
increase and maintain our butterfat. We place a great deal of trust in the know
ledge of their nutritionist. Dave Mattocks.
"The main reason we use Rumi-Cult 40 is because it's a natural product. Our
cows are much healthier, they make better use of (heir feed, and don't have the
digestive problems we had with other feeding programs. We are very pleased
with the increase in milk production and our lower vet expenses."
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 6,1990-F5
* Straw CoinpoaU
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A Bacterial Aid Fortified With Electro
lytes, Vitamins, Amino Acids, And
Blood Builders Specially Formulated
For Those High Producing Cows Under
Stress.
.
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Corn N Uptake
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nitrogen available, purchased
inputs applied, soil test data and
net profit.”
The summaries suggest possi
ble crop rotation plans, nutrient
management plans and fertilizer,
lime, plant varieties, tillage and
pesticide recommendations for the
new crop. Members also receive
shopping lists and cost of inputs
required for new crops.
Ron Wood
Gor-Wood-D Holsleins
Mansfield, PA
Aquilla Yoder
Belleville, PA