Disposal options for livestock mortalities are increasing limited throughout Vermont and across the United States.  Rendering has become increasingly scarce and expensive and concerns about biosecurity have increased.  Burying mortalities has increasingly drawn scrutiny due to its potential impact on ground water, and dragging animals out into the “back forty” has become a concern regarding predators, surface and ground water contamination, and biosecurity.  Additionally, burial and the “back forty” method can be challenging or impractical practices during the winter months in northern climates.

As a result composting has become a favored strategy for managing livestock mortalities on farm.   The practice of composting livestock mortalities has evolved and the adoption rate among producers has expanded significantly from its inception over thirty years ago in the poultry industry.  Composting is now used for all animal species on a wide variety of farms in all climates, providing effective inactivation of common pathogens, containment of nutrients, disposal, and nutrient recovery when implemented properly.

Like all forms of composting, livestock mortality composting, utilizes the natural decomposition process achieved by a diverse group of decomposer organisms.  These organisms require specific conditions in the pile to operate effectively, and producers utilizing this practice must create the proper environment and diet for these organisms in order to achieve biosecurity, resource protection, and efficiency goals on the farm.  The following resources will aid you in this effort.

 

Livestock Mortality Composting  Links

How To

	Natural Rendering Facts on carcass and butcher residual composting as alternatives to traditional rendering. Produced by the Cornell Waste Management Institute.
	Poultry Mortality Composting Produced by the Government of Alberta, Canada
	Design Procedure Sizing and designing animal mortality composting systems. Produced by the USDA
	Composting for Mortality Disposal on Hog Farms Produced by Virginia Tech
	Composting Swine Mortality Principles and Operation Produced by Ohio State University
	Carcass Disposal: A Comprehensive Review Technical overview of carcass composting practices and process Produced by the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center Consortium
	Emergency Mortality Composting, Bio-Security and Pathogen Inactivation Thorough review of emergency carcass composting\biosecurity practices. Produced by College of Engineering, Iowa State University
	Pathogen Inactivation Potential and Carcass Degradation in a Bio-secure Emergency Livestock Mortality Composting System Paper on mortality composting pile moisture in relation to achieving temperatures to destroy pathogens ( abstract) Produced by American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers

Research

	Cornell Waste Management Institute Literature review of research on pathogen presence in road kill deer and their inactivation during composting. Produced by N.Y. DOT and Cornell Univ.
	Treatment Of Wastewater From Abattoirs Before Land Application Wastewater treatment for slaughtering facilities Produced by Gauri S. Mittal School of Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ont., Canada
	Water Quality Risk of Uncovered Bovine Mortality Compost Piles Assessment of risks to ground/surface water quality with uncovered livestock mortality compost piles Produced by Michigan State University
	Composting Livestock Mortalities Iowa review of mortality composting practices with an emphasis on pathogen destruction, odor control and effects on water quality Produced by the J.G. Press
	Heat Inactivation of E. Coli During Manure Composting Produced by the J.G. Press
	Evaluation of In-Vessel Composting for Poultry Mortality Produced by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
	Development of time-temperature probes for tracking pathogen inactivation during composting Courtesy of Compost Science and Utilization