Stinking fertilizer: Fish hydrolysate from invasive carp with and without Johnson-Su compost extract on row crops in southern Indiana

Commodities

Practices

Sustainable agriculturalists agree that high disturbance, conventional ag practices, result in degraded soil health and minimal biological activity. Intense tillage creates compaction and water infiltration problems. Heavy chemical use creates a soil habitat that does not support living organisms. I observe this on farms across the region. In all my discussions and every article I read, farmers experience high input costs and low grain prices having a significant negative impact on farm margins. Improving soil health and increasing yield will help profitability. Decreasing the cost of production by using farm-made, sustainable, amendments could put farmers on the path of positive margins.

According to experts, invasive carp pose an economic and ecological catastrophe threatening the food web and changing the ecosystem of regional waters. Using invasive carp caught hyper-locally in the Ohio River to improve soil health and increase yield could be an opportunity to promote their removal and further reduce the carp's invasion. Decreasing the transportation footprint by using thousands of pounds of invasive carp from regional waters is a sustainability win going beyond agriculture.

I would like to improve the farm's profitability, improve soil health and provide relief from high fertilizer costs while decreasing the carbon footprint in utilization of invasive carp caught in the Ohio River. In order to accomplish this, we will make and apply farm-made fish hydrolysate and Johnson-Su compost extract in replicated strip trials.  We will coordinate trial design with Hans Schmitz, Technical Assistance Specialist, Indiana Ag Nutrient Alliance. Hans specializes in assisting producers with 4R Nutrient Management goals on their farm.

Materials:

Fish hydrolysate results from a cold fermenting process. We will make our fish hydrolysate using invasive carp, brown sugar and lactobacillus bacteria (LAB) with a 3:1 fish to sugar weight ratio.  Homemade LAB will be created from rice-wash and milk as a homeschool project with my kids.  Food-grade Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) totes will be modified to fit large dewatering bags inside. Approximately 1000 pounds of fresh, whole invasive carp will be processed and put into the dewatering bags inside the IBC totes.  Purchased brown sugar, LAB and water will be added before the top is sealed. The dewatering bags will hold the hydrolysate material and act as the first filter (approx 20 mesh) retaining fish debris, scales and bones that did not ferment.  After 2-4 months the dewatering bag will be lifted with with a fork lift and the resulting fish hydrolysate will be pumped from the IBC through a series of filters. The final product will flow through 150 mesh spray nozzles.

Our Johnson-Su bioreactor is made using methods based on farmer/rancher Jay Young's modifications (https://youngredangus.com/regenerative-agriculture/compost/).  We will make the Johnson-Su compost extract from previously made Johnson-Su compost.  4-8lbs of compost will be put into mesh brew bags and aerated in a barrel of 30gal water using an commercial aerator.  The resultant solution will be pumped out and through a series of mesh filters to ensure the final product flows through 150 mesh spray nozzles.

Methods:

Use replicated strip trials (30ft x ~2000ft, 1.3 acres) with control strips and treatments to include:

Side-dressed:

• Fish hydrolysate

• Johnson-Su extract

• Fish hydrolysate + Johnson-Su extract

Foliar:

• Fish hydrolysate

• Johnson-Su extract

• Fish hydrolysate + Johnson-Su extract

Objectives:

1: Investigate the impact of fish hydrolysate and Johnson-Su compost extract on soil health, crop yields and profitability.

2: Disseminate the findings, lessons learned and future possibilities of farm-made biological amendments.

3. Improve the knowledge base on the impacts of fish hydrolysate and Johnson-Su extract on improving soil health and crop yield while utilizing available inputs that are economically and environmentally sustainable.

4. Empower and educate on techniques to improve profitability, increase crop production and utilize invasive species in agriculture.