U.S. fertilizer shortages finally giving dung a chance

Skyrocketing prices for chemical fertilizers is creating hardship across the U.S. farmscape — but there’s a silver lining: Manure is making a muchneeded comeback.

Farmers in the U.S. can’t get enough organic waste from pigs, chickens, horses and cattle. As the cost of commercial fertilizers tripled in recent months, the demand for manure in major agricultural states such as Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois has doubled. Manure is now about 25% cheaper than synthetic fertilizers a good enough argument for many farmers to make the switch.

There is much more at stake, though. Pivoting from chemical to organic fertilizers can substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and toxic runoff from farms, improve water quality, rebuild the failing health of soil that’s been saturated with chemicals for decades and help revive rural economies.

Before World War II, U.S. farmland was mainly fertilized by animal manure, yet by the mid-1900s our increasingly industrialized crop and livestock operations were creating a severe imbalance in natural nitrogen cycles. Profligate overuse of chemical fertilizers in some regions contrasted with mountains of unused animal waste piled up in others. The current trend toward natural fertilizers taps into the wisdom of traditional agriculture: It recouples livestock and crop production and restores, little by little, a heathier balance of nitrogen in our food systems.