Apr. 25, 2008, Columbia, Mo. – The
theme of this year’s Breimyer Seminar at the University of Missouri is
Manure Entrepreneurs: Turning Brown to Green.
Apr. 25, 2008, Columbia, Mo. – The theme of this year’s Breimyer Seminar at the University of Missouri is Manure Entrepreneurs: Turning Brown to Green.
The seminar is scheduled for May 22.
Changing economics is making livestock manure worth more, say event planners. Manure, often considered a problem, is now viewed as a renewable resource for crop nutrients and for energy.
"A number of factors make manure more valuable," says Laura McCann, MU assistant professor of natural resources economics.
Average prices for fertilizers are 130 percent higher this year than in 2000. High crop prices, increased demand for ethanol, reliance on imported nitrogen and potash, along with declining value of the dollar, make manure fertility worth more. In addition, developing countries are using more fertilizer.
At the same time, high oil prices have brought renewed study of manure for energy. Manure can be burned or it can be converted into methane gas in anaerobic digesters.
"There are new incentives to develop marketable products from manure," McCann says.
Producers who convert manure into value-added products will tell their stories at the seminar. Some speakers will tell of funding sources for projects.
Academics and government officials will discuss economics, technologies, and regulatory and environmental issues.
The seminar will honor the memory of Charles Fulhage, a manure expert and early proponent of methane from manure. Fulhage, an MU professor of agricultural engineering, died Feb. 26, following a traffic accident.
The annual seminar for discussing developing areas of economics is named in memory of Harold Breimyer, an MU professor and USDA agricultural economist. One of his areas of concern was energy policy.
The meeting will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the MU campus. The registration fee of $25 includes lunch and parking. Deadline for signup is May 16. For brochures or registration, contact Joyce White at whitej@missouri.edu or 573-882-6533.
