animal and poultry
waste management research:
a progress report

Predicting Nutrient Release from
Food and Animal-Waste Products
The Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center

Organic wastes such as those produced by pigs and poultry can be a valuable source of nutrients for crops when applied to soil. But organic wastes must decompose before releasing their nutrients, and decomposition is controlled by a complex interaction of environmental factors and the characteristics of the waste itself. Organic wastes, as a result, are frequently more difficult to manage than inorganic fertilizers. The goal of this project was to develop methods that could be used by analytical laboratories to determine the nutrient value of organic waste. Two assays, or tests, were developed that can be used to determine quickly the potential nutrient release of organic waste. These tests provide the kind of information farmers need to use organic wastes in an environmentally and economically appropriate manner.

Funding: $21,000
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture grant
Status: Completed

Principal Investigator: Dr. Robert L. Mikkelsen, assistant professor, Soil Science, North Carolina State University, phone: (919) 515-2388, fax: (919) 515-2167, email: ROBERT_MIKKELSEN@NCSU.EDU

Collaborator: Dr. Arthur G. Wollum, professor, Soil Science, North Carolina State University