With ten million pigs in North Carolina’s hog industry, animal waste stored in open lagoons is a major environmental and health concern. This June, under its new Lagoon Conversion Program, the state awarded grants of up to $500,000 each to two hog farms and a nearby plant that will use new technology to turn the waste from 60,000 hogs into fertiliser.
“This is a great beginning for the state’s push to convert all open-air lagoons to modern systems,†said EDF environmental scientist Joseph Rudek.
Frontline Farmers, a coalition from the hog industry and EDF are working to make conversion to the new systems economically feasible. “Once we get these systems working on the ground, we can develop a market and bring down installation and operating costs,†Rudek said.
Related Website •
EDF Click here for the free Pig Progress newsletter