Using the black soldier fly as a value-added tool.
White Oak Pastures, Bluffton, Georgia, which raises, processes and packages livestock and poultry onsite, received a Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) Producer Grant to turn the black soldier fly into a value-added tool in making compost, while also serving as a protein source for chickens.
"We are taking an unwanted byproduct of livestock processing that has a negative value and creating a higher and better use for it through black soldier flies by creating two value-added products: compost and supplemental feed," said farm owner Will Harris. "And we are creating these products using a resource that is already available to us and without using any energy."
The black soldier fly, native to North America, exhibits characteristics that would be considered beneficial in agriculture. The adult fly does not bite, nor is it known to carry any diseases. In addition, the larvae (also known as mealworms) are scavengers, thriving on several kinds of decaying matter such as carnon, manure, plant refuse and waste products. With a dry weight protein content of roughly 42 percent and a fat content of about 34 percent, the larvae also make ideal inexpensive feed for chickens.
For project investigators Hilary Halford and Tripp Eldridge, the black soldier fly perfectly aligns with the 1,000-acre farm's sustainable agriculture practices of organic production, multi-animal rotational grazing, environmental stewardship, and animal welfare.
"The SARE grant is giving us an opportunity to explore the opportunities that this native species affords us and potentially create a system that can produce an inexpensive feed for our poultry while helping us meet our zero waste goals through compost development," said Halford, the farm's office manager.
The project calls for "farming" the black soldier fly larvae, either through on-farm collection or encouraging the females to lay eggs in corrugated cardboard incubators, and caring for the larvae until they are large enough to be transferred to suitable decaying matter. Eldridge, the organic farm manager, is using ProtaPods as a composting containers.
"Once we get the larvae in the ProtaPod, they are easy to collect. They self-harvest, meaning that when they are ready to pupate pupate
to proceed to the stage of pupa in an insect life cycle. , they will crawl out of the compost up a ridge around the container and then drop into a bucket that we've got set up," said Eldridge. "We then either allow the mature grubs to repopulate the area or feed them to the chickens."
The challenge, so far, said E1dridge, is maintaining a sustainable population of larvae at a volume suitable for waste processing and a volume high enough to be harvested for chicken feed. Moisture content appears to be big factor in the survivability sur·viv·a·ble
1. Capable of surviving: survivable organisms in a hostile environment.
2. That can be survived: a survivable, but very serious, illness. of the larvae.
"Once we get our population secured and maintained, then we'll be exploring a number of objectives, such as the ratio of larvae to compost production, how much larvae it takes to make a difference in the growth rate of the birds, what is the best processing system, and cost comparison of larvae as feed compared to other supplements," said Eldridge. Whether or not the current system works, Harris has big plans for the black soldier fly in his farming operation.
"They are here for a reason," he said. "It's all about taking responsibility for your waste."
White Oak Pastures re-purposes what it produces on the farm by creating manure compost, recycling all the wastewater, and using an anaerobic anaerobic /an·aer·o·bic/ (an?ah-ro´bik)
1. lacking molecular oxygen.
2. growing, living, or occurring in the absence of molecular oxygen; pertaining to an anaerobe. digester, which generates 1,000 gallons of liquid fertilizer a day. In addition, the farm houses passive solar water-heaters on roof buildings to heat the water used in livestock processing, and a 50,000-watt solar voltaic array to power the processing plant.
In addition to livestock, the farm produces organically certified vegetables for a 50-family CSA (1) (Canadian Standards Association, Toronto, Ontario, www.csa.ca) A standards-defining organization founded in 1919. It is involved in many industries, including electronics, communications and information technology. .
For more information on White Oak Pastures, visit http://whiteoakpastures.com/
Published by the Southern Region of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education or (SARE) is a part of the USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. SARE is a granting organization that tries to promote environmentally friendly agriculture and help small farmers become more profitable. (SARE) program. Funded by the USDA USDA,
n.pr See United States Department of Agriculture. National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA NIFA Nebraska Investment Finance Authority
NIFA National Intercollegiate Flying Association
NIFA New International Financial Architecture (political science)
NIFA North Idaho Farmers’ Association
NIFA National Institute of First Assisting, Inc. ), Sou thern SARE operates under cooperative agreements with the University of Georgia Organization
The President of the University of Georgia (as of 2007, Michael F. Adams) is the head administrator and is appointed and overseen by the Georgia Board of Regents. , Fort Valley State University, and the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture to offer competitive grants to advance sustainable agriculture in America's Southern region.