Organic Fertilizer and Precision Farming

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 Depopulation

The 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. 

A significant question is, how much feed remains unconsumed after depopulation?

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 on rough estimations without standardized procedures or manuals. However, technology also empowers farmers to predict weather patterns by analyzing historical and current data. This foresight will allow farmers to proactively manage environmental conditions within the chicken house, such as stocking gas for brooding or adjusting fan and cooling pad settings, particularly during the crucial brooding phase of broiler life.

Data is taking the role of a cornerstone of precision farming or smart farming. Every aspect of the farming operations is required to be monitored, recorded and analyzed to maximize resource utilization and productivity. The United States and Japan are role models of precision animal farming, where a shortage of human labor and the cost of hiring is prohibitive.

The principle of Precision Farming:

1. Utilize technology to record all data (such as chicken weight, feed intake, etc.) and gather and analyze them.

2. Setting targets based on the data analyzed.

3. Setting and implementing a plan to achieve those targets.

4. Evaluating performance to identify areas for improvement.

Benefits of precision farming:

1. Decreasing the cost of hiring human labor.

2. Continuous stable operation farming from lacking human labor.

3. Effective use of resources such as animal feed, reducing feed leftover after depopulation, or stocking gas in the brooding period.

Technology investments principally drive the initial cost of precision farming. However, farmers must also consider the potential reduction at the target compared to the cost of technology and the payback period. Given these factors, is it a crucial time for a transition of animal farming practices toward the future? “Insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results,” Albert Einstein.