agribusinessreview.comSEPTEMBER 20258OPINIONIN MY Zero-waste and sustainable farming are becoming increasingly widespread trends in the modern era. Consumers are placing a growing emphasis on the efficient utilization of resources. As stakeholders in the agricultural industry, the business often requires the utilization of various resources for farming; we are responsible for managing resources effectively for sustainable farming practices. The feces of a laying breeder contain 13 of the essential plant nutrients. These include nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), chlorine (Cl), boron (B), iron (Fe), and molybdenum (Mo). Some crucial plants like oil palm and rubber are well-suited for organic fertilizers; broiler feces fertilizer is specifically suitable for field crops such as sugarcane, corn, or cassava. Initially, we need to comprehensively understand poultry farming in Thailand. Litter is a prevalent use for bedding in broiler and poultry breeding farms. For the broiler farms, litter-bedded barns require around 5-6 metric tons of litter for each barn, measuring in an area of 16*120 meters or larger in the breeder one. The litter and chicken feces are mixed by flipping daily from day 1 to day 30, depending on the litter quality or the catching age. Consequently, a significant amount of litter remains after depopulation.How to Manage Bedding after DepopulationThe litter remains in the chicken barn may harbor bacteria, such as Salmonella spp. or E. coli. The Department of Livestock Development (DLD) legislates that farmers must ferment the litter within the chicken barn before removal to disinfect and safeguard against disease spread. The benefit of the fermentation process is not only disinfecting the litter but also reducing heat generation from feces and mitigating odor. After spraying it with disinfectant, the farmer should gather the litter into small piles, approximately one cubic meter each; these piles should be covered with plastic sheets or scooped into sacks and left undisturbed for at least three days before removing them from the farm. Some farmers opt to further enhance decomposition by adding molasses and effective microorganisms (EM) to litter before applying in the planting area. However, it is required to turn the litter regularly to prevent the deterioration and death of EM due to heat and poor ventilation. Another crucial view of sustainable farming is the efficient utilization of resources such as animal feed, water, and labor. A significant question is, how much feed remains unconsumed after depopulation? And how to reduce it? Technology has emerged as a powerful tool to replace human labor in this regard. By leveraging technology, we can accurately calculate and predict feed intake to minimize leftover feed after depopulation. This is a meaningful improvement over the traditional method of farmers relying By leveraging technology, we can accurately calculate and predict feed intake to minimize leftover feed after depopulationORGANIC FERTILIZER AND PRECISION FARMINGBy Kantapat Jaruprompong, Manager, Farm System and Poultry Welfare, Tyson Foods
< Page 7 | Page 9 >