P.J. By P.J.

CHICAGO (Reuters – Abe Sandquist uses every marketing technique he has in his arsenal to help cows. Poop needs to get somewhere. Midwestern entrepreneurs have worked hard to attract farmers with its potential benefits for crops.

More U.S. growers now call Sandquist to complain about a worldwide shortage of fertilizers, made worse by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sandquist claims that more Americans are trying to find old-fashioned livestock manure.

Sandquist, the founder of Natural Fertilizer Services Inc., a U.S.-based nutrient management business, said that “I wish I had more to sale.” But there isn’t enough to satisfy the demand.”

A fertile side-business selling livestock waste to growers has been discovered by some dairy and livestock farmers. The equipment firms making manure spreading machines, known as honeywagons are also profiting.

According to Allen Kampschnieder, an industry consultant, many cattle feeders which sell their waste have been sold through the year. This is because there are now more U.S. farmers looking for manure supplies in the spring planting season.

Kampschnieder from Nebraska’s Nutrient Advisors said, “Manure has absolutely become a very hot commodity.” We have waiting lists.”

U.S. data shows that skyrocketing prices for fertilizers will reduce American farmers’ wheat and corn productions this spring. Global food supply is further threatened by the low domestic wheat stocks and disruptions to grain shipment from key suppliers, Russia-Ukraine.

Although manure is able to compensate for some deficiencies in nutrients, experts say it doesn’t provide a cure all. It’s impossible to replace all of the US commercial fertilizers. The cost of transporting them is high. Prices for animal waste are also rising due to strong demand.

This is partly due to the potential impacts of water system disruptions.

Chris Jones, an engineer who specializes in water quality and research at the University of Iowa, stated that manure can cause severe problems when it pollutes nearby groundwater, streams, and lakes.

According to livestock farmers, it is difficult to follow all regulations of the government and monitor how manure has been applied.

RACE TO WASTE

The upside is that demand for these products is strong, despite the limitations.

Three Wisconsin dairy farmers said to Reuters that they refused requests via Twitter and text messages from Reuters for their manure.

North Carolina’s Phinite makes manure drying systems.

Smithfield Foods is the largest producer of pork in the world and has observed a shift at U.S. farms which supply it with slaughterhouses.

Jim Monroe (a spokesperson for the company) stated that “we’re seeing farmers shift toward manure due to the rise in fertilizer price,” referring to the Hong Kong-listed WH Group Ltd.

To produce industrial fertilizers, such as nitrogen, it takes a lot more energy. Last year saw prices rise due to rising demand, and lower supplies. This was a result of record-breaking coal and oil prices that prompted fertilizer producers to reduce their output. The global supply chain was also affected by severe weather conditions and COVID-19-related outbreaks.

The situation has gotten worse due to the fact that Ukraine’s war with Russia is causing a reduction in fertilizer exports to Russia from its ally Belarus. This was due to Western shipping sanctions and other snags. This could lead to a decrease in harvests worldwide at a time when food prices are high. Rabobank in the Netherlands reported that Russia and Belarus together accounted more than 40% for global potash exports. This is one of three essential nutrients needed to increase crop yields.

CRU Group in London reported that commercial fertilizer prices hit a new record as of March. They have risen four times since 2020 while phosphate was up three fold and potash four times respectively.

Dale Cramer of Cambridge in Nebraska, which grows soybeans and corn on about 6000 acres, is one person still left. He has been searching for other options and has looked at feedlots looking for manure every day since August last year.

Cramer explained that many people had submitted names to the same cause.

HONEYWAGON CRAMBLE

Prices have risen in response to increased demand for manure, which has resulted in unexpected profits for livestock producers as well as cattle feedlots.

According to consultant Kampschnieder, Nebraska’s solid manure prices have risen to $11-$14 per ton from the $5-$8 range. He said that dry winters caused manure to be less concentrated and therefore more expensive.

Pat Reisinger from Iowa is pleased to report that he now has dung from the dairy cows and the pigs he rears for fertilizing the corn, soybeans, and hay he plants to feed them. Reisinger sold some manure to one neighbor, and is receiving phone calls from other people in need.

Reisinger stated, “If I didn’t sell any more, then I would have to go back and buy fertilizer commercially, which is absurd.”

Machinery companies, which make spreading equipment for solid matter as well as honeywagons (wheeled tanks attached to trucks or tractors) for applying and transporting liquefied refuse have also been benefited by the boom.

Husky Farm Equipment Ltd in Canada has been sold all its honeywagons. Walter Grose, president of Husky Farm Equipment Ltd. said the first product was designed to increase efficiency in spreading manure and collect it. Grose is now a direct seller to both farmers and machine dealers, but he’s finding it hard to keep up.

Grose sells several sizes of honeywagons and said, “We have people looking to purchase equipment right away” Prices for larger tanks average $70,000

CNH Industrial (NYSE :), an American-Italian construction and farm equipment company, stated that it saw strong demand for New Holland brand spreaders. These spreaders are basically a stainless steel container attached to a tractor and used to spread and haul solid manure.

KanEquip Inc, a Kansas equipment dealer, has sold all New Holland spreaders. Prices have increased 10% from their normal $30,000 list price, according to Bryndon Meinhardt, regional manager. According to him, 10 additional New Holland spreaders have been ordered by the dealership in order to keep up with demand.

There is no POOP for you

Even though large numbers of cattle herds produce tons of manure each year, this is not enough to fully replace conventional fertilizer. Iowa is the largest producer of corn and pork in America. It already uses all its manure to cover approximately 25% of its corn fields each year. Dan Andersen of Iowa State University, an associate professor who studies manure management, stated that Iowa has been doing this for 25 years.

Andersen is known on Twitter as @DrManure. Iowa’s annual manure consumption averages 14 billion Gallons. Andersen believes that Iowa farmers may be able to smuggle an additional billion gallons of manure from tanks at farms, which can then be used as a substitute for expensive commercial fertilizer.

A large part of the problem of supply is due to the U.S.’s evolution in its farm economy. America’s livestock sector is now consolidated. There are geographic hubs that are home to animals for meat, eggs or milk and also where most of the manure is grown. Because of this, certain areas may have less than others and must find ways to get rid of the excess.

Brett Reinford, a Pennsylvania dairyman thought that he may be short on storage space for manure over winter. He made an offer: Come and take it away. You can get it free of charge. He got no takers.

Six months later, Reinford has liquid gold. Reinford said, “We are keeping it all. I wish we had more.”

The U.S.’s livestock herds will shrink and the U.S. poultry flocks will decrease this year making manure even more important.

Due to rising prices for feed and other inputs and the emergence of swine disease, America’s hog population has declined to about 5 million. In the meantime, more than 22 million turkeys and chickens have been killed by bird flu on U.S. farm since February.

However, even the hardest-hit poultry farmers might have something to do: According to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, their dead birds could be used as fertilizer.