The World Is So Desperate for Manure Even Human Waste Is a Hot Commodity
- Soaring energy prices make fertilizer inputs more expensive
- Farmers are scrambling for organic manure, including biosolids
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The market for manure -- from pigs, horses, cattle and even humans -- has never been so hot, thanks to a global shortage of chemical fertilizers.
Just ask Andrew Whitelaw, a grains analyst at Thomas Elder Markets based in Melbourne, Australia who runs a commercial pig farm in his spare time. Whitelaw said that he’s completely sold clean of animal waste, as farmers hunt for alternatives to the more commonly used phosphate- and nitrogen-based fertilizers that are vital to boosting crop yields.