Poultry Litter For Mississippi Soybean Farming?

Results of the study showed:

• Poultry litter application resulted in an average 10.8 bu/acre (9.5%) increase in corn yield.


• Poultry litter application resulted in an average 4.1 bu/acre (11.7%) increase in soybean yield.

A 2005 Agronomy Journal article presents the findings from an early 2000's study conducted at Mississippi State University on a silty clay loam soil where using broiler litter as a fertilizer for soybeans was compared to using commercial fertilizer. The findings and conclusions from this study are:

• Using broiler litter vs. commercial fertilizer increased soybean yields by 3.3 bu/acre (9%).


• The potential for soybean to remove soil N and increase yield from broiler litter application should encourage soybean as an alternative crop for broiler litter fertilization.


• The application of broiler litter to soybeans appears to be agronomically and environmentally sound.

The results from the above two studies lead to the same conclusion; i.e., using broiler litter as a fertilizer for soybeans will result in increased yields.

So, what does this mean for Mississippi soybean farming? Here are some estimates, facts, and unknowns that will allow an assessment of the above results.

• There are approximately 8000 broiler houses in Mississippi. Each of these houses provides about 200 tons of litter per year. Therefore, there is an abundance of broiler litter from Mississippi poultry houses that can be used for fertilizer.


• According to an MSU publication, a ton of broiler litter contains the equivalent of about 58, 48, and 17 pounds of N, P₂O₅, and K₂O, respectively, on a dry weight basis. Based on late 2010 fertilizer prices, broiler litter would be worth $30 to $40 per ton as a fertilizer. This is tempered somewhat by the fact that soybeans do not need the N fertilizer component.


• The cost of a ton of broiler litter loaded at the site of accumulation in Mississippi falls in the range of $10 to $16/ton. Purchase cost of broiler litter would thus be $10 to $32/acre for application rates of 1 to 2 tons/acre.


• There is no current estimate of the cost for delivering poultry litter to and spreading it on the site of intended use. This cost would vary widely depending on fuel cost and distance from the loading site to the application site, and would significantly add to the final cost of using broiler litter as a fertilizer for Mississippi soybean farming.


• Since most of Mississippi’s broiler houses are located in the southeastern part of the state–an area with few soybean acres–the cost of delivery to areas of the state with significant soybean acreage is presumed to be substantial.

My take on the above subject is this. Even though the findings and conclusions from the above two studies indicate that broiler litter is an effective fertilizer for soybeans, its cost (purchasing, hauling, and spreading) may be too great for its practical consideration as a fertilizer for soybeans.

An interesting study would be an economics one that calculates the value of the P and K fertilizer components of chicken litter and the costs associated with its application at varying rates to a soybean field that is a significant distance from the site of accumulation to determine if my above assessment is indeed correct.

In the 2012 MSPB Request for Research Proposals, there is a section that states “The MSPB strongly encourages that all research proposals that have a production input or inputs with associated cost(s) also include an economic evaluation component or objective”. The reason for this component is supported by the above presentation.


I thank Mr. Danny Thornton, Extension Instructor in the MSU Poultry Science Department, for the Mississippi statistics used in this article. Further details about this subject can be found in Economic Impact of the Mississippi Poultry Industry (2007).


larryheatherly@bellsouth.net.