Agricultural Waste Management

The management of agricultural waste is amenable to techniques traditionally available to civil engineers. The problems with agricultural wastes, however, are different from those commonly encountered in the management of municipal waste. Serious problems have resulted when municipal waste technology has been transferred to the management of agricultural wastes without due consideration for the differences of generation characteristics and chemical characteristics of the waste materials. The management of agricultural wastes is described, using the example of animal manures. The management of animal manures requires the utilization of a system that somehow resolves the problems of separation of the manure from the animal, transport, storage or treatment, or both, and disposal. Treatment is for the purpose of making manure more amenable to cropland application or for the purpose of changing its physical and chemical characteristics so as to avoid application difficulties or nuisances attributable to application.