FLAKES of dried chicken droppings blow through the air as Jared Gubbels supervises the transfer of the stuff from an agricultural truck into the fertiliser spreader trailing his tractor. It infiltrates clothes, hair, nostrils. The smell lingers as Mr Gubbels drives away. Twenty minutes later he is back for another load. Chicken droppings are excellent fertiliser for organic corn. But it takes 5,000 pounds (2.3 tonnes) of the stuff to prepare an acre of land for sowing season, compared with just 300 pounds of chemical fertiliser for conventional crops.
“I don’t eat organic,” says Mr Gubbels as he guides the tractor down the field. “We do it strictly for the profit.” Mr Gubbels’ father, Greg, started growing organic crops in 1998, enticed by juicy margins. Yields for organic corn are about 70% of those for the conventional variety, but it sells for well over twice as much, more than making up for the shortfall.
Yet of the 4,000 acres...Continue reading
Source: United States https://ift.tt/2qtHyTB
EmoticonEmoticon