To avoid paying higher rendering costs, some farmers are considering composting dead livestock on their farms.

Penn State Cooperative Extension is encouraging composting even large cows over burial or illegal disposal. But a renderer warns that composting done incorrectly could spark a disease outbreak here.

"If you have avian influenza or foot-and-mouth disease, composting at a low temperature will not kill the bacteria," said J.J. Smith, president of the county's largest renderer, Valley Proteins.

Finding an affordable way to properly dispose of dead farm animals is one more challenge facing farmers in the Garden Spot.

About 25 years ago, when a cow died unexpectedly, farmers made a phone call and a renderer sent a truck and hauled away the carcass.

Farmers got a $5 or $10 check since the hide and other parts of the animal were sold at a profit.

That was before mad cow disease affected markets of animal byproducts.

Now, farmers have to pay renderers to take their dead livestock — and the cost is rising to a level many farmers may not be able to afford.

The Lancaster County Conservation District is offering a free program, "A Practical Approach to Mortality Composting," on Wednesday, March 21, at 10 a.m., at Shady Maple Smorgasbord, 129 Toddy Drive, East Earl.

The program will provide information on the science behind composting, technical and cost-share assistance available, and examples and pictures from a few local farmers already composting their dead animals.

Shelly Dehoff, of the Lancaster County Conservation District and the Pennsylvania Agricultural Ombudsman Program, said rising costs for rendering will cause more and more farmers to dispose of their own dead livestock. Without education, they might do so irresponsibly.

Dehoff helped arrange an informational meeting on livestock composting in Lebanon County in December.

"It took about two months for us to plan the session," she said. "In that time, the costs of rendering (a large cow or horse) went from $60 to $90."

"Composting is a very viable, good, smart way to dispose of animals," Dehoff said. "It does kill pathogens."

Compost is a process of natural heating and microbial action to convert an animal's remains into organic matter.

Pennsylvania law says that any animal mortality needs to be properly disposed of in 48 hours.

Four options are render, bury, burn or compost, Dehoff said.

Proper burning requires special equipment, extension educators say.

Greg Martin, Lancaster County's poultry extension educator, said an animal must be buried four to six feet deep and away from any ground water sources.

If animals are buried with little organic material, they tend to mummify and stay in place, he said.

Martin said some farmers here have composted dead chickens for years.

He said there are challenges in composting a large cow or horse, but it can be done.

Piercing a hole through the hide into the rumen, or stomach area, can quicken decomposition, he said.

If farmers manage their compost piles properly, the temperature should rise above 140 degrees, the level needed to properly kill bacteria, he said.

Since no buildings are necessary with composting, Martin said, cost can be held in check.

Smith questioned if composting — when managed correctly — is any cheaper than rendering.

"Composting large animals is a joke," Smith said. "Some farmers will just throw animals on a pile."

If harmful bacteria in the resulting fertilizer are put on fields, wildlife, fowl or rodents may spread disease, he said.

"You could have a very serious animal incident," Smith warned.

He cited several reasons for rising rendering costs in recent years.

Hides are sold overseas for about the same price as 20 years ago, but labor costs have nearly doubled.

Diesel fuel and oil costs have also increased tremendously, he said.

Valley Proteins used to sell meat from dead animals to pet food companies for 13 cents a pound.

Now, the company can sell only about 20 percent of that meat, and at just 10 cents a pound.

Smith said Valley Proteins picked up dead animals from farms for free as recently as the mid-1980s.

The company now charges $75 for pick-up, or $25 for a delivered carcass.

Valley Proteins, based in Winchester, Va., operates 11 rendering plants in seven states.

Its rendering plant in East Earl processes about 4 million pounds of animal by-products a week, Smith said.

The majority of the company's raw material is received from animal and poultry slaughter plants and from supermarkets and restaurants.

Dead livestock makes up about 10 percent of Valley Proteins' business. About 400 dead animals collected from farms within 80 miles of Lancaster County are processed at the East Earl plant a week.

Ninety percent are cows or calves, and about 10 percent horses.

If a state bill to ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption becomes law, he said, more horses will likely be rendered.

Dehoff said equine owners may want to consider composting.

Registration for the March 21 program is required by Friday, March 16. Contact Kevin Lutz at 299-5361 or kevin.lutz@pa.nacdnet.net.

HOW TO COMPOST LIVESTOCK
Add two feet of sawdust or wood chip base in a well-drained area more than 200 feet from a water source.

Lay animals in center of the pile.

Cover bodies with two feet of green sawdust, compost material or dry silage-bedpack.

Pile temperature should reach 140-160 degrees.

After three months for smaller animals or six months for cows, turn pile and add some hay material.

After a second three to six months, the pile material can be used for top cover on a new pile or spread.

Source: Penn State Cooperative Extension

CONTACT US: rrobinson@LNPnews.com or 481-6032