In his insightful new book, Holy Shit: Managing Manure to Save Mankind, contrary farmer Gene Logsdon provides the inside story of manure-our greatest, yet most misunderstood, natural resource. He begins by lamenting a modern society that not only throws away both animal and human manure-worth billions of dollars in fertilizer value-but that spends a staggering amount of money to do so. This wastefulness makes even less sense as the supply of mined or chemically synthesized fertilizers dwindles and their cost skyrockets. In fact, he argues, if we do not learn how to turn our manures into fertilizer to keep food production in line with increasing population, our civilization, like so many that went before it, will inevitably decline. With his trademark humor, his years of experience writing about both farming and waste management, and his uncanny eye for the small but important details, Logsdon artfully describes how to manage farm manure, pet manure and human manure to make fertilizer and humus. He covers the field, so to speak, discussing topics like: How to select the right pitchfork for the job and use it correctly How to operate a small manure spreader How to build a barn manure pack with farm animal manure How to compost cat and dog waste How to recycle toilet water for irrigation purposes, and How to get rid ourselves of our irrational paranoia about feces and urine. Gene Logsdon does not mince words. This fresh, fascinating and entertaining look at an earthy, but absolutely crucial subject, is a small gem and is destined to become a classic of our agricultural literature.

The majority of meat, milk, and eggs consumed in the United States are produced in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO). With concentrated animal operations, in turn comes concentrated manure accumulation, which can pose a threat of contamination of air, soil, and water if improperly managed. Animal Manure: Production, Characteristics, Environmental Concerns, and Management navigates these important environmental concerns while detailing opportunities for environmentally and economically beneficial utilization.

A rapidly changing and expanding livestock and poultry production sector is causing a range of environmental problems on local, regional and global scales. Animal Manure Recycling: Treatment and Management presents an accessible overview of environmentally friendly technologies for managing animal manure more efficiently and in a sustainable manner. The book describes the physical and chemical characteristics of animal manure and microbial processes, featuring detailed examples and case studies showing how this knowledge can be used in practice. Readers are introduced to the sustainable use of animal manure for crop fertilisation and soil amelioration. Environmentally friendly technologies for reducing emissions of ammonia, odour and the greenhouse gases nitrous oxide and methane are presented, and reduction of plant nutrient losses using separation technologies is introduced. Finally and most importantly, the book describes methods to commercialise and transfer knowledge about innovations to end-users. Topics covered include: Regulation of animal manure management Manure organic matter: characteristics and microbial transformations Greenhouse gas emissions from animal manures and technologies for their reduction Technologies and logistics for handling, transport and distribution of animal manures Bioenergy production Animal manure residue upgrading and nutrient recovery in bio-fertilisers Life cycle assessment of manure management systems Innovation in animal manure management and recycling Animal Manure Recycling: Treatment and Management presents state-of-the-art coverage of the entire animal manure chain, providing practical information for engineers, environmental consultants, academics and advanced students involved in scientific, technical and regulatory issues related to animal manure management.

Anyone who raises livestock or keeps horses must deal with manure. This Storey BASICS® guide shows you how to make this process manageable, useful, and even profitable. Organic dairy farmer and soil scientist Mark Kopecky explains the fundamentals of storing, composting, and spreading manure; the nutritional content of manure from various animals; and how to handle, transport, and market manure for additional income. You’ll soon discover that your farm’s waste may be its biggest asset.

Anyone who raises livestock or keeps horses must deal with manure. This Storey BASICS® guide shows you how to make this process manageable, useful, and even profitable. Organic dairy farmer and soil scientist Mark Kopecky explains the fundamentals of storing, composting, and spreading manure; the nutritional content of manure from various animals; and how to handle, transport, and market manure for additional income. You’ll soon discover that your farm’s waste may be its biggest asset.

Nutrients from livestock & poultry manure are key sources of water pollution. Ever-growing numbers of animals per farm & per acre have increased the risk of water pollution. New Clean Water Act regulations compel the large confined animal producers to meet nutrient application standards when applying manure to the land, & USDA encourages all animal feeding operations to do the same. The additional costs for managing manure (such as hauling manure off the farm) have implications for feedgrain producers & consumers as well. This report¿s farm level analysis examines onfarm technical choice & producer costs across major U.S. production areas for hauling manure to the minimum amount of land needed to assimilate manure nutrients. Illustrations.

This volume provides a current look at how development of intensive live stock production, particularly hogs, has affected human health with respect to zoonotic diseases primarily transmitted by food but also by water, air and oc cupational activity. While information presented focuses on the development of increasing livestock production in Canada, examples are given and compar isons are made with other countries (Denmark, Taiwan, the Netherlands and the United States) where the levels of livestock production are much more intense and where the industry is more mature. Canada is also searching for solutions to enable handling the growing volume of its livestock waste properly. Lessons learned from the experience of those who have gone before are invaluable and are drawn together in this volume to serve as useful guidance for others in plot ting the courses of action possible to avoid serious environmental setbacks and negative human health effects through foodborne illness. A significant portion of the text is devoted to a discussion of enteric illness in humans caused by zoonotic pathogens. The second chapter deals with sur vival of pathogens (which cause foodborne illness) in manure environments. An evaluation of the human health hazard likely to occur from the use of ma nure as fertilizer is important because of the recent trend toward an increase in foodborne illness from the consumption of minimally processed fruits and vegetables that may have been fertilized with animal-derived organic materials.

A rapidly changing and expanding livestock and poultry production sector is causing a range of environmental problems on local, regional and global scales. Animal Manure Recycling: Treatment and Management presents an accessible overview of environmentally friendly technologies for managing animal manure more efficiently and in a sustainable manner. The book describes the physical and chemical characteristics of animal manure and microbial processes, featuring detailed examples and case studies showing how this knowledge can be used in practice. Readers are introduced to the sustainable use of animal manure for crop fertilisation and soil amelioration. Environmentally friendly technologies for reducing emissions of ammonia, odour and the greenhouse gases nitrous oxide and methane are presented, and reduction of plant nutrient losses using separation technologies is introduced. Finally and most importantly, the book describes methods to commercialise and transfer knowledge about innovations to end-users. Topics covered include: Regulation of animal manure management Manure organic matter: characteristics and microbial transformations Greenhouse gas emissions from animal manures and technologies for their reduction Technologies and logistics for handling, transport and distribution of animal manures Bioenergy production Animal manure residue upgrading and nutrient recovery in bio-fertilisers Life cycle assessment of manure management systems Innovation in animal manure management and recycling Animal Manure Recycling: Treatment and Management presents state-of-the-art coverage of the entire animal manure chain, providing practical information for engineers, environmental consultants, academics and advanced students involved in scientific, technical and regulatory issues related to animal manure management.