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Putting lagoon solids to work

Two companies recently announced a partnership to develop and market bio-based sustainable fertilizer products.


August 1, 2018  by Manure Manager Staff

Anuvia Plant Nutrients and Smithfield Foods have formed a partnership to create fertilizer from manure solids that settle in company-owned and contracted hog farms in North Carolina.

Smithfield Foods and Anuvia Plant Nutrients recently announce a new partnership to create sustainable fertilizer from solids collected from the manure treatment systems at Smithfield’s hog farms.

The project is part of Smithfield Renewables, Smithfield’s new platform dedicated to unifying and accelerating its carbon reduction and renewable energy efforts.

The project aims to reuse organic matter found in hog manure to create a commercial-grade fertilizer.

Anuvia will utilize remnant solids from Smithfield that accumulate over time at the bottom of the anaerobic lagoons and use it to manufacture commercial-grade fertilizer products. These products would then be sold to farmers across the U.S.

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“Through Smithfield Renewables, we are aggressively pursuing opportunities to reduce our environmental footprint while creating value,” said Kraig Westerbeek, senior director of Smithfield Renewables. “Along with projects that transform biogas into renewable natural gas, this is another example of how we are tackling this goal on our hog farms.”

“This is the beginning of a partnership based on a shared vision that will positively impact livestock and crop production,” said Amy Yoder, Anuvia Plant Nutrients CEO. “This relationship provides a new sustainable way for Smithfield to return its remnant solids back to the land for use on the crops grown to feed the hogs. The impact of this is extremely significant for hog production and the livestock industry. We look forward to helping achieve both Smithfield’s and Anuvia’s environmental goals.”

Company-owned and contract hog farms in North Carolina will participate in this project. Smithfield will collect and begin the process by de-watering the waste solids before providing the remnants to Anuvia. Once acquired, Anuvia will pick-up and transport the material to their processing plant to create the fertilizer.

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