"ta" wrote in message ...
What is the most environmentally friendly and efficient way of managing
animal waste? I'm researching alternatives to factory farms and am curious
as to how other farmers deal with the waste issue. Thanks very much for any
sources or information!

I believe, instead of farming and feedlots that concentrate manure,
grazing and allowing natural distribution of manure, especially with
short grazing period rotations timed to both break pest cycles and
favor protein-rich legume regrowth, is the soundest method, and most
closely mimics unmanaged systems with predators and flies, etc.
stimulating short grazing periods.
New Zealand reportedly has year-round grass-based dairy operations,
with milking parlors on tractor trailers filling milk tank trucks
between pastures, as I remember.
In tropical regions dung beetles bury manure as part of their
lifecycle, speeding nutrient cycles, reducing erosion in sudden rains
and possibly reducing diseases.
Tibet was recently found to hold a 'living-fossil' cold-hardy dung
beetle population, previously known only from fossilized remains. I've
wondered about the possibilities of wider utilization of this dung
beetle, say along the Appallachian Trail, to reduce Giardia spp.,
etc., or in colder grazing habitats.

I'm a neophyte in this and you may well be able to dig up more.
Another possible factor is varying soil concentrations of trace
minerals like selenium. Young cattle from selenium-rich zones may be
fatten on selenium-poor zone feedstuffs and outperform selenium-poor
ares pastured cattle. There are mineral supplements available, so I
could be wrong here, and on most else.

Brian Cady