Life Sciences Commons^™

Swine Waste Disposal Dilemma, Robert Mikkelsen

Robert Mikkelsen

The swine industry has grown rapidly in North Carolina in the past decade, with the majority of the growth occurring in a few counties in the Coastal Plain region of the state. With this expansion has come the problem of swine waste disposal. Mr. Blevins, a local farmer in this region, has been raising swine since 1985. The swine waste on his farm is collected in an anaerobic lagoon and then irrigated onto a bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon(L.) Pers.) pasture where cattle are fed using intensive rotational grazing techniques. A study of Mr. Blevins' farm revealed very high nitrate concentrations in …