How To Easily Convert Animal Wastes into Money
Did you know that as a livestock farmer, you can use animal waste to generate income directly and indirectly? Farming has progressed beyond the days of simply putting seed on the ground, covering the soil, watering the soil, and allowing nature to take its course in causing the planted seed to germinate, weeding the grown plant, fertilizing the crop, and harvesting the crop when matured and ready for harvest.
Farmers today must be able to think outside the box in order to answer questions such as, “What can I do to ensure that I utilize all of my farm produce, including wastes, and turn them into a money source?”
If you are creative enough to find an answer to this question, I guarantee you that you have created another source of income for yourself without even realizing it.
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Many fish farmers still use the traditional method of flushing dirty water from their fish ponds into a hole or splashing it all over the soil.
Many livestock farmers continue to use the traditional method of transporting their animal wastes to a designated location where they are to be burned when dry or after a while, as well as many other old routine practices of decomposing animal wastes.
What is Animal Waste?
Animal Wastes are discarded material from industries directly associated with the raising of animals, such as those wastes produced by livestock farming (manure, milk, etc.), meat production and animal testing (animal bodies, animal parts, feathers, etc.), and fur breeding (fur, blood, etc.).
How To Easily Convert Animal Wastes into Money
Here are various ways you can utilize animal wastes and convert them into a source of income directly or indirectly;
1. The Use them Yourself Method
For the sake of this example, I will be using a maize farm, a fish farm, and a poultry farm.
Now assuming you have a maize farm, a fish farm, and a poultry farm then here is an example for you;
1. Plant your maize using the recommended spacings and the right maize seeds (corn seeds).
2. Channel your fish pond water wastes to your maize field with the use of irrigation pipes or other related techniques.
Alternatively, you can also channel your fish pond water wastes to a designated hole or a depositing point from which you can then channel the water to the maize field and use that as your source of water for the maize plants.
3. When it is time for the fertilization of the crops, you should use your poultry wastes as manure in your maize field.
4. when the maize matures, harvest them and use them as part of the raw materials to formulate your fish feed and poultry feed.
Now, this is the intended farming strategy;
First I want to let you know that maize (corn) acts as a source of carbohydrates for most animal feeds and is mostly required in larger amounts.
Therefore, to minimize your general cost of production and ensure maximum profit, you have successfully achieved the following using this strategy;
1. You planted your maize farm with the intention of using them to feed your farm animals e.g. chickens, fishes, rabbits, grasscutters, etc.
2. Instead of wasting your fish pond water wastes, you made them become useful by using the water as your water source for irrigation.
With regular water availability, you can even get to cultivate your maize all year (practicing all-year-round maize farming) without having to wait for rainfall…. This will be our topic for another day.
3. With your poultry manure acting as your source for crop fertilization, you won’t have to spend more money on purchasing fertilizers which thereby reduces the cost of producing your maize crops.
4. Finally, when the maize matures and is ready for harvest, you can then harvest them and use them as part of your raw materials in producing animal feed (making your animal feed) for your animals, thereby feeding the maize back to the animals whose wastes were used to produce them.
Now at the end of the day with all of these, you will successfully reduce your general cost of production which in return will generate maximum profit for you as the poultry farmer or fish farmer following this example.
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2. The Sell Them Off Method
This is another method you can use to turn your animal waste into cash. This method is pretty straightforward although not the best in terms of earning profitability and utilization of the waste materials.
This is the method whereby you simply decide to allow other persons who need the waste to come and buy them from you.
You can pack the generated animal wastes with sacks and notify buyers who might be gardeners that use the manure in their gardens, horticulturists who use them on their flowers, or even other farmers who will purchase them from you and use them as explained in the first option above.
3. The Do Nothing Method
I know I am not supposed to add this method to the list, but I am adding it because I will prefer you do something about the animal waste… smiles!
Do not neglect animal waste especially after you realize how useful it can actually become.
In conclusion, whether you are into livestock farming, horticulture, aquaculture, apiculture, etc. there are always innovative ways you can carry out your farming and farm operations to enhance agricultural productivity and increase profit.
We can together achieve sustainable agriculture and ensure food security in this growing population across the globe if we work together to contribute our different ideas and strategies.
How To Easily Convert Animal Wastes into Money
