Composted Swine Manure for Vegetable Crop Application

Abstract

One way to manage swine waste is to spread it on agricultural land, but few swine producers have enough land to which to apply all the waste generated by their operation. Crop producers wishing to use swine waste on their land must address issues such as the cost of transporting liquid waste and the limits on waste use imposed by food safety certification requirements. Composting can help address these concerns. Processing the liquid waste by composting it eliminates the need to transport and apply liquids. Food safety certification for vegetable crops does not allow use of raw manure but does allow the use of properly composted livestock waste. Composting thus has the potential to allow the recycling of swine waste nutrients in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner.