Here are the top 5 reasons why a feather or bone meal-based fertilizer is preferred over animal manures, compost teas, sludges and synthetic fertilizers:

1. Slow Release--This is what the agrochemical industry strives for in development of synthetic fertilizers. One of the most important keys to soil fertility is the availability of plant required nutrients over an extended period of time (from seedling to harvest). In addition, slow release of nutrients reduces negative environmental impacts and diminishes the effects of nutrient immobilization by soil microorganisms...a common fate of manures, compost teas, liquid fish fertilizers and many basic synthetics.
   
   
2. Less Work--As a result of slow release characteristics, the efficacy of feather- or bone-based products will typically last longer than other organic fertilizers (on a percent N residual basis). NPO's 9-3-7 does not require specialized machinery, mixing or treatment to apply. This represents less cost and worry for production managers who have other priorities.
   
   
3. Cost--Unfortunately, this is not so apparent. However, when one considers that the greatest cost for production is labor, reducing input applications and thus the labor involved could result in considerable savings. Choosing to incorporate a feather or bone meal-based fertilizer can be more economical compared to use of manures, compost teas, liquid fish fertilizers and some synthetics. This is an important factor that end-users are beginning to understand--figuring the cost of nutrient requirements per acre should include both nutrient availability and labor involved over time.
   
   
4. Environmentally Friendly--Again, due to natural characteristics of feather or bone meal-based materials, this form of fertilizer could have less environmental impacts. Because the majority of feather or bone meal nutrients are complexed as amino acids, nutrients become available through biological processes and thus released slowly, in turn minimizing loss of nutrients into non-target soils and water--a typical problem associated with manures, compost teas, liquid fish fertilizers and basic synthetics (the Gulf of Mexico represents a good example of problems resulting from years of excessive mineral nutrient losses from crop land into the Mississippi River).
   
   
5. Consistent Qualities--Due to standardized methods used in processing feather or bone meal-based materials, consumers are assured a consistent, sterile product--free of contaminants like weed seeds, heavy metals, pathogens and/or other undesirable byproducts. Additionally, the custom particulate sizes available for specific application types assures machinery compatibility for consistent distribution rates of the fert into soils or broadcast over turf.
   
   

These points are obviously intertwined. However, when you start to break them out, it makes much more sense to use feather or bone meal-based products in crop production systems. Comparative studies (i.e. Mark Gaskell's research) show that feather or bone meal products may be superior in many factors to other forms of fertilizers. When one considers the above points, this makes complete sense.

Wes Deuel
President
Full Circle Ag, Inc.
About Wes