By John Sutter
Reuters reports that chicken manure is being used increasingly as a fertilizer in this region of the country — as conventional fertilizer prices shoot up. It’s becoming relatively less expensive to truck chicken waste around. The waste from farms in northeast Oklahoma is being used as far away as Lawton, in the southwest part of the state.
The story points out that the fact that chicken poop is high in nitrogen and phosphorus is both a blessing and a potential curse. Oklahoma is suing poultry companies for allegedly polluting the state’s waters and choking out aquatic life.
The news agency reports from Kansas City:
… with commercial fertilizer prices so high — over $100 an acre in some cases — farmers far from poultry operations see the economic benefits of buying bird waste, even in light of transportation costs.
“It’s a fantastic alternative to fertilizer,” said Kansas State University soil specialist Doug Shoup. “Of all manure, it has the highest concentration of nitrogen, good calcium, good sulphur, and a bit of a liming effect. It is a little bit like Miracle Grow.”