Once again, it’s been proven that people really can buy just about anything on the Internet.
Michigan farmers looking to buy or sell manure can look no further than the Michigan Manure Resources Network, a Web site produced by a group of MSU Extension agents and professors for the last two years.
Entries can be placed on the site for free by anyone wishing to dispose of or acquire manure, which comes from sources such as beef, horses, poultry - even rabbits.
Besides listing entries, the site also contains links to information about manure applicators.
M. Charles Gould, an MSU Extension agent and the site’s manager, said the network is for farmers who want to move manure off the farm and make it a value-added product, as well as increase the profitability of their farm.
“There’s two reasons for it, in terms of manure,” Gould said. “We have areas in the state with high concentrations of manure and areas in the state that don’t.”
Areas of low concentration often suffer from a lack of nutrients in the soil that certain crops need, which makes manure a valuable resource for some farmers.
“There is a gentleman that drives all the way from Copper Harbor down to Allegan County to pick it up,” Gould said.
But it’s difficult for manure producers - livestock and poultry farmers as well as breeders - to dispose of their particular by-product. Michigan has a zero-discharge law that penalizes farmers for allowing any farm waste to run off into the state’s waters.
Therefore, many growers are reluctant to spread manure on their fields for fear of using too much and creating runoff, which would earn them a stiff penalty.
Gould said people do visit the site but he plans to do an analysis soon to determine just how much use the site gets.
Anne Swink, a small breeder in Lansing, recently found and placed an entry on the site. Although she hasn’t received any offers yet, she’s not worried about moving her manure because she has enough acreage on her farm to spread it out.
Another small breeder in Benton Harbor, Penny DePree, hasn’t had any luck in moving her manure either, but she hopes to make a sale this year. The Web-based outlet is useful, she said, but more people need to use it before there will be any real results.
The West Michigan Turkey company hasn’t fared much better in moving their manure. It has only received one inquiry that can be directly related to the site, said James Cox, a general manager for the company.
He believes in the Web-based concept and said that it can enable manure to be used far more efficiently. Still, the current crop of farmers remain tentative, both with the presence of the new technology and the state restrictions in place.
“I think it will become useful, but like any technology, it’ll take time,” Cox said. “The next generation of farmers will embrace it more fully.”
