Dear Reader
The two main issues are first, that by using this manure you could be inadvertently be applying a herbicide to your land and second, you could be endangering the health of your cattle if you feed them this manure.
Fortunately for me, the plants on Spier Wine Farm and for the readers who eat our beef and our eggs there is no need to worry.
Our chickens eat a non GMO diet and our cattle NEVER eat a grain. Neither do we feed our cattle chicken manure.
You need to click on this weblink twice to see the lab result that shows Roundup in broiler chicken manure of 1,103 ppm BROOKSIDE RESULT ON CHICKEN POOP
Manure from factory farms is very widely used as so called fertilizer on farms and to make so called organic fertilizer. Chicken manure has a particular versatility. It is fed to cattle (this practice is illegal but widespread) who apparently do very well on it. They apparently prefer a little molasses with the chicken manure.
Lets us use the above lab results as an example. If the farmer were to put a ton of the chicken manure onto his land then he would be applying the equivalent dose that Monsanto recommend for the most pernicious weeds at the pre-flowering stage. Page 11 is where you want to be looking. No farmer is only going to apply 1 ton per hectare and so the possible dose of Roundup is much higher.
The second issue is around animal health. There are pages and pages of peer reviewed research into this matter. I have found that this is the best site with the research, the criticism of the research and criticism of the criticism.
Apart from GMO food being a big experiment on human beings without their consent the major issue is that by supporting GMO you the consumer are choosing to support a corporation over a farmer. Corporations by definition think about the next quarters earnings whereas farmers think long term.
We are all farmers by proxy and we can choose to eat non GMO beef by buying grass fed beef and non GMO eggs by buying mine or Woolworth’s Organic Eggs. Unfortunately there is no non GMO chicken in this country.
Details about sourcing our produce are right at the top of the blog.
Angus
4 Responses
Hi,
Do you perhaps know if any work has been done on the ability of Vermicast to combat glyphosate residue in soil?
Danie
I dont know of any of that research.
Angus
Hi, I have 32ha under pivot irrigation that I planted 2 years roundup ready corn. I applied 20t/ha chicken litter each season. Average 15.25 t/ha yield.Last winter ryegrass, beautiful no problem. This January planted panicum maximum grass for permanent pasture. Field was sprayed with 6/ha roundup turbo 10 days prior to plating. Zero tilling was used. Zero germination and field was left barren. Seed water ect. were tested, no problem. The monsanto guy reckons it cannot be the roundup, yet an small area was miss with the spray and there the grass germinated and grew beautiful. Any comments please
Hi Farmer Angus
My name is James and I am about to buy a plot of land to do smallscale farming. I am planning to use 1 1/2 HA for crops and another HA to grow organic chicken and eggs.
I would really like advice on specific matters. How do I get in touch with you?