Farming: Would industrial hemp be an ideal solution for use of hog farm runoff?

Question

as in "runoff" I mean "hog s**t" - to use as hemp fertilizer

I understand it is generally too acidic, "hot", nitrogenous, for other typical farm crops, soybeans, corn...

is this yet another no-brainer which is not allowed because of government idiocy of "illegality"?

could the lives of farmers be saved by not having such a threat from storage of tons of hog runoff when it could go directly into fields to stimulate economic growth?

Same question applies in regard to medical marijuana, or un-illegalized recreational marijuana in general

Answer 1

Now, now, skunkweed smells bad enough already and you want to add pig manure to the bouquet.

Answer 2

yep sounds good to me

Answer 3

It isn't which specific crop one uses to absorb or incorporate the amounts of nitrogenous waste. Any crop would benefit. After a good round of composting which could also yield substantial bio gas, if it is too acidic then it could easily be brought into line with limestone applications. Reducing consumption of meat products would be a better answer as they are stressful to the environment in a number of ways and the health issues associated with heavy meat consumption probably are high on the health risk list, right up there with tobacco. Hemp as a fiber and as an oil source is a good idea and the use of hemp as a source for paper manufacturing (fiber again) is roughly 7 times the fiber per acre compared to wood. The hemp though that is grown for the textile and paper industry would not be a good flower producer. We don't need to smoke that stuff. It causes permanent brain injury especially in a young developing brain and because of the way that it is smoked, one joint is equivalent to one PACK of cigarettes. The cost to the health care industry as well as to social order is way too steep. Anyone that has smoked pot and quit will tell you that the amazing clarity of thought and the level of health and life activity (increased) that follows left them appalled at the waste of time and life they allowed themselves. Yep, pot should be free choice, but not promoted except as an agricultural commodity to save resources.

Answer 4

Ideal, not.  You will not get pot so easy.  The ideal solution for runnoff is in a co-generation plant where heat and methane are generated through microscopic degration and the products are used elsewhere on the farm.

Answer 5

First there is not ideal solution, but rather several potential crops to use.  If there is a market for industrial hemp then the use of manure in the crop could be a very valid fertilizer alternative.

Second, there is no manure that is to "hot" for use in a cropping system.  Manures have much less salting potential and thus damage from salt than commercial fertilizers.

As far as storage, that is a situation that will happen regardless.  While a crop may receive multiple applications of fertilizer, the USA alone has millions of acres that receive a single fertilizer application at planting only.  I, personally, do not know of a cropping system, outside of a greenhouse, that requires weekly fertilizer applications.  Under our cropping systems, unless the CAFO (confined animal feeding operation) has access to a lot of land (my guess, and this is just a wild a$$ guess, about 30 acres per 1000 pounds of livestock fed) with a very diversified cropping program (meaning a lot of different crops), some on-farm storage will be required.