Manure Eating Flies Produce Protein LIVESTOCK Miscellaneous Dairy manure fed to black soldier flies BSF produces protein that could be fed to livestock The full circle concept received a $618 000 research grant from the USDA A research team of entomologists from Texas A&M and Mississippi State University hope to prove environmental and economic benefits to the practice If successful they hope it’ll lead to changes in current federal regulations according to team co-leader Jeff Tomberlin Ph D Texas A&M Center for Environmental Sustainability through Insect Farming “We’ve been working on the process with manure since 2005 ” says Tomberlin “This 3-year program is designed to make the process better using microbes to enhance the viability of the black soldier flies We’re still refining the concentration and process using microbes isolated from black soldier flies ” BSF consume their weight in organic waste daily The process can reduce dry matter in the manure by 40 percent and moisture by 60 percent leaving less waste to be dealt with by the farmer “We can reduce the manure load by 30 to 40 percent ” says Tomberlin “At the same time we can produce a saleable commodity We take a byproduct of one industry and create a new product ” Tomberlin has visited large industrial BSF production systems in Europe Asia and Africa as well as North America Some automated systems using BSF can digest 100 tons of waste per day While those use a variety of waste streams BSF production has been limited in the U S to pre-consumer food waste He points to EnviroFlight in Kentucky as one example He adds that Tyson Foods recently partnered with Protix a Dutch insect ingredient company to build a large-scale insect production facility The team is gathering data from small batches of manure and BSF They started with 2 lbs of dairy manure in containers and have since expanded to 18 lbs per tub Each tub hosts 10 000 BSF for 2 weeks before they’re harvested and replaced by BSF eggs BSF reared on approved organic waste are already being used in poultry swine and pet food “Our goal is to make manure an approved organic waste ” says Tomberlin “When the larvae are harvested for use as a feed ingredient the residual can be used as fertilizer ” Once the research effort is completed the next steps will be up to entrepreneur companies notes Tomberlin “The insect production industry is still new ” he says “It’s wide open for entities interested in pursuing the opportunities ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Center for Environmental Sustainability through Insect Farming 2475 TAMU Texas A&M College Station Texas 77843 ph 979-845-9718; jeffery tomberlin@ag tamu edu; www insectcenter org

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