How Animals Help Plants

Americans eat more than 200 pounds of meat per person per year. One byproduct of meeting that demand is manure, as nearly 9 billion pounds of livestock manure is generated daily.

Transforming livestock waste into the most useful form of plant nutrition is the pursuit of people like Abe Sandquist. The former federal soil conservationist started Natural Fertilizer Services 18 years ago.

“We need to be constantly figuring out how are going to take these nutrients and recycle them,” he said, “You never buy them, you only rent them. Nutrients are harvested and replaced, and they have to be in circulation just like money. If money stops circulation, the economy fails. So does the soil.”

He’s bullish on continuing to find the best use of manure to grow crops, which ultimately benefit ranchers, growers, the environment and economy.

Sandquist is providing manure for field trials including Redox products at the XPRT Farm in Iowa.