4 Tips For Reducing Livestock Farm Waste

Farmers, ranchers, and anyone who works agriculture in the U.S. all play a vital role as environmental stewards.

Whether you operate a poultry, swine, or dairy farm (or any combination of the three), you understand the importance of managing agricultural waste.

Livestock produce a large amount of waste: left over or unused feed, manure, bedding, and all of the remaining odds and ends from the equipment needed to keep your operation up and running.

Farmers are finding ways to do more with less resources and help keep the land they use cleaner, safer, and profitable for future generations.

1. Compost Organic Food and Wood Waste

If you get a lot of food waste, you can arrange for a waste collection company to come and remove it, taking it to a recycling plant where they can recycle and distribute it accordingly.

Alternatively, most organic food waste can be composted. Many farms already compost manure. If you manage livestock and crops, the compost from livestock waste can be recycled to be used as fertilizer for your crops.

In other cases, food compost can be sold to help offset feed costs.

2. Re-use Animal Waste (Manure) as Fertilizer

Livestock produce a lot of waste. In 2012, there was over 369 million tons of manure produced in the U.S.

Properly managing all of this waste is a challenging task. However, animal waste can be useful, and even profitable, if it’s handled correctly.

One of the best uses of manure is as part of a compost mixture. Manure can be composted on its own, or as part of a mix with biodegradable food waste and used bedding. Livestock manure can also be used or sold as a fertilizer, too.

Always ensure you are following all local, state, and federal animal waste regulations when recycling manure. One of the best ways to ensure you’re meeting all regulations is by having a thorough manure management plan for your farm.

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3. Find Ways to Reuse Twine, Scrap Metal, and Other Items

From wood waste, like pallets and old fencing, to scrap metal - there’s no end to the surplus of materials on a farm.

While it’s often easier to simply discard most scrap material, there are plenty of ways that it can be re-used on your farm:

●Wood can be shredded and used as bedding for certain animals. Pallet and wood may also be given away or sold to individuals who make DIY wood furniture or decorations.

●Twine, rope, and other organics materials can be composted or even re-used on the farm.

●Certain scrap metals can be sold to recyclers or stored and re-used to make repairs. Some scrap may be desirable for DIY projects, as well.

There are many ways to put leftover materials to good use. Before tossing it, try to think of other uses for the material first.

4. Reuse Water

Farms use a lot of water. Not just for watering crops, but for livestock, too. Aside from drinking water, farmers use water to wash down barns, stalls, and other livestock buildings. A perfect example is milking parlors.

Dairy farmers regularly wash milking parlors. Often, this water is immediately sent down the drain. However, farmers can reduce waste by capturing this water and reusing it. For example, re-captured water from washing down a milk parlor can be used to wash away manure in barns and stalls. Alternatively, this water can be used for crops or other plants.

Farmer Boy Is Here To Help

There are many ways to recycle and reduce waste on your livestock farm. Farmer Boy has quality equipment and supplies that can make waste management and reduction easier. From manure scraper systems for easier manure management to livestock watering systems to reduce water waste, we have what you need!