Runner Up Essay: Amy, Edgemont

Posted: 4/24/2015

By Amy

Sources of information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._Simplot

http://www.greenenergyohio.org/goinggreen/page.cfm?pageld=1687

My Dad, who has been a rancher for 20 years

 

How Farmers Utilize Waste

 

            My great-grandma used to say, “Waste not, want not.” Many farmers utilize waste and by-products in profitable ways for good outcomes.

Corn farmers can use corn stalks in many ways. One thing they can do instead of wasting the corn stalks is to let cattle graze the stalks after the corn is cut. This uses up any “waste” the combiners leave.

Dairy farmers are having luck turning manure into natural gas. Dairy farmers use manure to fertilize crops. Another good thing about manure is that you don’t have to make it like chemicals.

One potato farmer, J. R. Simplot, made fries, but all of the potato peelings were going to waste. He had a good idea and bought 600 hogs. Then, instead of letting all of the potato peelings go to waste, he fed them to the hogs.

Wheat farmers can use wheat stubble for making straw. Then they could use the straw for feeding animals and use the animal’s manure to help grow more crops.

These are just some examples of utilizing waste. I think that my great-grandma would marvel at the fact that farmers are “wasting not, wanting not.”