With the help of a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has launched a promising project to convert excess poultry manure, a major source of pollution in Lancaster County, into compost for landscaping projects.

The production of compost from poultry “litter,” which might otherwise be applied to the land untreated, could help to limit nitrogen and phosphorus pollution that runs off Lancaster farmland and into the nearby Conestoga River, the Susquehanna, and the Bay.

This summer, about 4,000 cubic yards of the manure-based compost was sold at market value for professional and collegiate athletic fields and golf courses. Additionally, CBF coordinated the delivery of nearly 2,000 tons of compost to an abandoned mine land reclamation project in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.

The compost is being used as a soil amendment, which will facilitate the re-growth of vegetation on the site.

Alternative uses for chicken manure are an environmental plus for the Conestoga watershed, which contributes the most nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of any Bay tributary through its animal intensive agriculture.

“The poultry litter has the advantage of holding high concentrations of nutrients, and it’s dryer and lighter than raw dairy manure, which makes transport easier and less expensive,” said Harry Campbell, CBF Staff Scientist for CBF’s Pennsylvania office.

CBF plans to continue to explore additional markets for the compost, such as plant nurseries, road maintenance and urban stormwater management projects in south-central Pennsylvania.

Visit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Pennsylvania webpage for more.

10/31/2008