News Research Field Crops Livestock Production
Solving surplus manure with a look to the past

The U.S. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is working on a solution to excess manure nutrients by looking to the past.

Family mixed farms have been replaced by large-scale crop and livestock operations over the past sixty years. While this has increased yield and efficiency, it has also created a disconnect between the two – and excess manure.

ARS scientists are proposing “manure-sheds” as a way to reconnect crop and livestock operations. The plan involves identifying manure “sources” and “sinks” and finding ways to sustainably transport and store manure to increase access and reduce excess. |READ MORE