Animal manure, ubiquitous on farms and ranches, may seem like useless waste, but it is actually a "natural raw material" for making organic fertilizer.Through scientific processing, these excrements can lose their odor and be transformed into a "nutrient treasure trove" that nourishes the soil. This transformation process is the core of the organic fertilizer making process, revealing the cyclical wisdom of nature and the ingenuity of human craftsmanship.
The first step in turning manure into organic fertilizer is raw material pretreatment, which is also a crucial foundational step in the organic fertilizer production process. Fresh animal manure has a high water content and many impurities, requiring solid-liquid separation to remove stones, weeds, and other debris. The moisture content is then adjusted to 55%-65%—a level that meets the needs of microbial activity while preventing anaerobic decay during fermentation. Simultaneously, loose materials such as straw and sawdust are mixed in to increase aeration, laying the foundation for subsequent fermentation.
The core step is high-temperature fermentation and maturation. The pretreated mixture is piled into fermentation heaps 1-2 meters high, where microorganisms become the main force in this transformation. Thermophilic bacteria, actinomycetes, and other microorganisms decompose large molecules such as proteins and cellulose in the feces, converting them into smaller molecules like amino acids and minerals that plants can absorb. During fermentation, the heap temperature rises to above 55℃ and remains there for several days, killing pathogens, insect eggs, and weed seeds in the feces, and decomposing harmful substances. During this period, a compost turning machine is used to regularly turn the heap, replenish oxygen, and regulate the temperature to ensure even and thorough fermentation. This stage typically lasts 20-45 days.
Finally, there is post-processing. The matured material has initially acquired the characteristics of organic fertilizer, but it still needs to be crushed and sieved to remove incompletely decomposed impurities and make the particles more uniform. Some organic fertilizers also have appropriate amounts of micronutrients added according to crop needs. After granulation, drying, and cooling, it finally becomes a commercial organic fertilizer that is easy to store, transport, and apply, marking the completion of the closed-loop production process for organic fertilizer.
From stinking excrement to moist and fertile organic fertilizer, this process realizes the resource utilization of waste. After organic fertilizer returns to the soil, it can not only replenish nutrients, but also improve soil structure, increase soil permeability, reduce the pollution of chemical fertilizers to the environment, and create a virtuous cycle in the farmland ecosystem, becoming an important support for the sustainable development of agriculture.
