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Statement by the Animal Agriculture Alliance Coalition on Farm Waste Management in Animal Agriculture
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Too often, too much emphasis is misplaced on the quantity of manure produced by our animals. The more critical metric is how well the manure is being used to support crop production (because of its nutrient and organic matter content).
Manure is being successfully substituted for large quantities of commercial fertilizer in crop production throughout the U.S., resulting in substantial energy savings. For example, in the case of corn production, energy savings from the substitution of swine manure for commercial N fertilizer result in net energy savings on the order of 31 to 34 percent.i
Such substantial energy savings, of course, also translate into substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
The nutrient and energy savings that manure use creates is often overlooked or taken for granted. Many people don’t know that our livestock and poultry production systems across the country are engaged in an efficient, expansive nutrient and organic matter recycling program that makes a major contribution to helping feed the U.S. and much of the world while cutting down on the use of commercial fertilizers and, in the process, supporting energy conservation and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Read more. (PDF, 100 KB)
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