Composting cow manure significantly reduces harmful greenhouse gases linked to global warming while also cutting back on its foul smell, according to a new Canadian study.
University of Alberta researcher Gurpreet Singh said he unearthed scientific evidence that composting, rather than the normal farm practice of stockpiling dung, produces a third less greenhouse gases and could reduce Canada's carbon emissions by as much as 1.6 billion kilograms annually.
Composting also creates a "better textured" fertiliser that is easier to spread on fields and reduces its pungent odour, he told AFP in a telephone interview from Edmonton in western Canada.
But, the high cost of composting - as much as 50,000 Canadian dollars (43,000 US dollars) for special tractor-fitted turning equipment plus annual labour costs - will likely turn off most farmers, despite the obvious environmental benefits, industry observers said.
Singh spent three months folding and mixing a massive 50-tonne pile of cow dung, while another pile was left untouched.
The static pile generated 233 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions per tonne, while the turned pile emitted a mere 92 kilograms of equivalent carbon dioxide, he said.
In inert mounds, microbes starved of oxygen also produce methane gas as they feast on the feces, he said.
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