Anne Grant

Date of Award

12-2003

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Resource Economics and Policy

Advisor

James D. Leiby

Second Committee Member

Mario F. Teisl

Third Committee Member

Hsiang-tai Cheng

Abstract

Manure contains many important nutrients that are vital to the growth of crops. When this material is applied to fields in an inappropriate manner or in quantities too large for the soil to handle, this leads to pollution in the form of leaching and runoff, which causes contamination of ground and surface waters. An average cow produces one hundred pounds of manure per day (1 8 tons per year). Composted manure could provide farmers with a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional manure management practices. A review of the composting literature determined that a wide variety of markets do exist for composted dairy manure. The cost of producing the raw compost product was calculated along with the cost of bagging and transporting compost. It was determined that bulk compost could not be profitably transported to market, but that bagged compost can be profitably transported to market.

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