Released October 1, 2008
STILLWATER, Okla. – For years, large animal carcass disposal has been a problem. Not only are livestock producers limited on options, it also can be costly.
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service is hosting a Large Animal Carcass Composting Field Day on Oct.14 at the Haskell County Fair Barn in Stigler. Research funded by an Extension Team Initiative Program grant has provided Oklahoma livestock producers with a safe, economical alternative for livestock carcass disposal.
The field day, which is free and open to anyone interested in the environmentally friendly solution, will kick off at noon with lunch on Tuesday, Oct. 14. The barn is on the south side of the road after turning east off of Highway 9 onto Old Military Road.
The basics of carcass composting will be discussed, as well as various methodologies, Oklahoma State University mortality composting research data and a tour at 1:30 p.m. of field demonstration compost plots in Whitefield, Okla. The event will conclude at 3 p.m.
“Livestock producers will gain beneficial knowledge about the environment, disease prevention and cost benefits of composting dead livestock carcasses,” said Josh Payne, OSU Cooperative Extension area animal waste management specialist.
In the past, many producers have chosen to leave dead carcasses exposed on the field or drag them to ditches or ravines. This is not only illegal in Oklahoma, it can also degrade surface and groundwater and result in increased disease transmission, endangering the health of humans, domestic livestock, wildlife and pets.
“You have to be more than a quarter-mile away from a road or a public dwelling to leave them on top of the ground, and a lot of guys can’t afford a back hoe to bury them,” said Brian Pugh, Haskell County Extension agricultural educator. “They might not have enough land to leave them on top of the ground; they might not be able to bury them. All the landfills now won’t take carcasses like they used to so it leaves a guy with a lot fewer options.”
OSU research indicates that high temperatures achieved through proper composting will destroy most pathogens and viruses, while microorganisms will degrade the carcass leaving only a few small bone fragments which are brittle and will break easily. This valuable byproduct can then be applied as a fertilizer source, adding nutrients and organic matter to the soil.
“We kind of look at it as a value-added product,” Pugh said. “A lot of producers have old hay that they don’t know what to do with, and this is a way that you could dispose of a carcass and then reapply it back to your land the next year and the grass would get some nutrients out of it.”
Those interested in attending the Large Animal Carcass Composting Field Day are asked to pre-register with the Haskell County Extension Office at 918-967-4330, by no later than Oct. 10.
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Contact: Sean Hubbard, (405) 744-4490, sean.hubbard@okstate.edu
