Manure Use for Fertilizer and for Energy: Report to Congress

James MacDonald, Marc Ribaudo, Michael Livingston, Jayson Beckman and Wen Huang

No 292135, Administrative Publications from United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service

Abstract: The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to evaluate the role of animal manure as a source of fertilizer, and its other uses. About 5 percent of all U.S. cropland is currently fertilized with livestock manure, and corn accounts for over half of the acreage to which manure is applied. Expanded environmental regulation through nutrient management plans will likely lead to wider use of manure on cropland, at higher production costs, but with only modest impacts on production costs, commodity demand, or farm structure. There is widespread interest in using manure as a feedstock for energy production. While current use is quite limited, expanded government support, either direct or indirectly, could lead to a substantial increase in manure use as a feedstock. However, current energy processes are unlikely to compete with fertilizer uses of manure, because they leave fertilizer nutrients as residues, in more marketable form, and because manure-to-energy projects will be most profitable in regions where raw manure is in excess supply, with the least value as fertilizer.

Keywords: Crop Production/Industries; Livestock Production/Industries; Resource/Energy Economics and Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 53
Date: 2009-06
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uersap:292135

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.292135

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