Every time I hear or see this, I wonder if they ever think about how much Maryland Residents produce. "Every year, Maryland produces enough poultry waste to fill M&T Bank Stadium two times"
The average 150 lb adult human produces 4.5 lbs of manure per day. The average 4 lb chicken produces 0.25 lbs per day. So it's 18 adult chickens for every 1 adult human. An adult human produces manure all year but a broiler is for only a handful of weeks.
I would bet that if you do the math, the 360 million chickens that are grown per year in Maryland produce a fraction of the amount of manure Marylanders produce per year.
In addition to this, the poultry manure is spread on hundreds or thousands of acres of farm ground, incorporated into the soil within 72 hours on ground (that is so flat that there is very little to no runoff) and taken up by the growing crop that is planted in that soil. Then compare that to the human manure that is treated in a sewer system yet still has the nutrients it and then directly discharged into a tributary of the Bay.
No one wants to talk about this as it is too expensive to address. We as Farmers need to quit complaining about what they say and just one up their accusations with facts about what they produce and how minor Ag is to the effects on the bay.
Just some food for thought.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
4 comments:
We could dry it and use it as fuel for pellet stoves.
Their are facilities that dry waste and use this for other ways to save . Of course the EPA would object because of the clean air act . They would claim too much nitrogen in the air . I think air is 90 % nitrogen anyway.
The corollary to the human excrement is a good way to highlight what the federal and local governments efforts have actually accomplished with their junk science based legislation.
Between the flush tax (with its associated increases), and the new septic system requirements for unsightly mounds degrading property values across Maryland - neither resulting in any appreciable improvements as noted by the consistent grade from the "Bay-Savers".
How about some real science on a small scale with some real results on a small scale that actually works...then upgrade that throughout the ag and water harvesting communities...then we'll have proven workable solutions with known outcomes - let the people make the decision....
God, what self serving propaganda!
Assumptions presented as truth. Undocumented statistics. Opinions and beliefs offered as fact.
A G E N D A.
I thought that human waste was treated before being applied unlike chicken manure.
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