Bakersfield, Calif.-Kern County officials expect to be adopting in September a ban on the use of un-composted or raw manure on crops grown for human consumption in response to the e-coli scare with leafy green produce last year. But that doesn’t mean there is lot of unprocessed manure being used in this large agriculture community, since a recent quick survey by the county agriculture commissioner didn’t find any farm use of this type of manure. Brian Pitts, chief of environmental health, told Green Markets after the board of supervisors put off final action last week to allow farmers to provide their input that he is confident an ordnance of some type will be passed on Sept. 11. No word has been received from the fertilizer industry, but Pitts expects support from area growers because “farmers here are increasingly interested in producing a safe product.” Pitts said one change under consideration is to allow raw manure to be used on crops that are grown for pasteurizing, such as canned corn and beans. Kern County was in the news last year when citizens voted to prohibit biosolids from being trucked in from Los Angeles and other nearby areas. That matter has yet to be resolved in the courts, however.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain