Chesapeake Bay Feed Plan Cuts Nutrients at the Source

By better managing what goes in an animal’s mouth, scientists say they can reduce—sometimes dramatically—the amount of nutrients coming out the other end. 

Chickens, cows, cattle, hogs and turkeys in the Chesapeake Bay watershed churn out about 44 million tons of manure each year. Altogether, they are responsible for about a fifth of the nitrogen and phosphorus entering the Bay. Researchers, farm advisers and water quality managers increasingly believe the best way to deal with those nutrients is to keep them from coming out of the animal to begin with. When the Chesapeake Bay Commission last year reported on the six most cost-effective strategies for cleaning up all nutrient sources to the Bay, it ranked diet and feed adjustments second behind wastewater treatment plant upgrades.

Chesapeake Bay Journal, December 2005 http://www.bayjournal.com/index.cfm?issue=267