Thriving through Insect Farming: Advancing Frass Fertilizer to Enhance One-Health in the Southeastern US

Commodities

Practices

This project will advance insect farming to upcycle agrifood waste and produce sustainable protein and insect manure (“frass”). Currently regionally wasted frass (over 2 tons/week; 2% N) could displace 14,000 lb of ammonium nitrate/year or generate an additional $2.6 million/year for insect farmers ($23/kg frass). Through this project, SSARE will be on the forefront of an emerging area and lead the next sustainable agriculture revolution (as previously done for cover crops), thus promoting a novel fertilizer to enhance whole-systems sustainability and community resilience in the Southeastern US. Insect rearing for animal feed is emerging as an eco-friendly alternative to annual grains and a promising farming operation for underserved communities, allowing for greater income diversification and food security. The primary by-product of insect farming – frass – is N-P-K-enriched and can be used as an organic fertilizer, thereby displacing synthetic fertilizers. However, regional farmers are not using frass as application rates, production benefits, and composition differences based on insect species/feed sources are unknown. Therefore, basic agronomic information is desperately needed to support the full utilization of frass at the scale it is being produced and support effective waste management for a growing industry. This project will fill research and education gaps and unravel the benefits of insect farming and frass utilization for systems’ One Health (healthy soils-plants-animals-humans) to revolutionize the insect protein industry and promote social and economic development in the SSARE region. Here, we will characterize frass based on agrifood waste and insect species currently underway by insect farmers (EnviroFlight and Ovipost). Field research on certified organic land will test superworm, cricket, and black soldier fly frass (high and low rates) relative to poultry litter, and unfertilized control on sweet corn, edamame, and pasture systems. Research results on soil health, pathogens, CO₂ emissions, crop yields and quality, and plant growth and resistance to pests will be shared through 2 technical bulletins (English and Spanish) to nearly 40,000 individuals in the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and non-profit Rhythmic Alliance for Community Sustainability (RACS) networks, reaching Latin, African and Native Americans, women in agriculture, and veterans in the Armed to Farm program. Best frass types/rates will be showcased in demonstration farms in AR (lamb/pasture), NC and SC (chickpea-corn rotation) and 2 1890s-led field days in NC and SC, directly training 250 farmers. Insect farmers will demonstrate rearing systems during 1890s field days. NCAT will lead one workshop in AR and 2 podcast episodes (“Voices from the Field”), thus advancing insect farming as a regional solution for protein production, waste management, and organic fertilizer. Economic analyses will reduce risk by identifying economically sustainable frass levels. Overall, this project will enhance regional whole-systems’ sustainability by 1) upcycling agrifood waste as feed for insects, 2) displacing carbon-positive and energy intensive annual grains, and 3) producing frass for crops/vegetables that will feed animals/humans. This project’s outcomes include agrifood waste reduction, sustainable animal feed, greater frass utilization, synthetic fertilizers displacement, expansion of organic markets, enhanced environmental health, and self-reliance of underserved communities.

The overall goal of this project is to enhance whole systems’ sustainability through insect farming and the widespread use of frass as an organic fertilizer source, removing barriers for creating value-added products in the poultry and aquaculture sectors, allowing for additional return on investment, and enhanced food security and reliance on local resources.

The USDA-ARS Southeast Area, UofA, SCSU, NCA&T, and NCAT will conduct research, outreach and education to facilitate the incorporation of food and agricultural waste into insect rearing, advancing insect farming as a sustainable protein industry in the Southeastern US and the full utilization of insect frass fertilizer. Research on insect frass will advance relevant science to equip the US poultry and aquaculture industry to access new conventional and organic crop markets. Moreover, through effective training and technical assistance, this project will promote insect farming as a practice to reduce agrifood waste and yield protein and organic fertilizer to underserved producers and consumers, with limited access to feed/fertilizer sources, increasing self-reliance on local resources and leading to a more efficient food system in the SSARE region. Specific project objectives include:

1. Conduct laboratory and field research to identify and deliver optimum agrifood waste-insect production-frass fertilizer-cropping systems that will improve soil health, crop quality and yields, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ultimately enhancing systems’ sustainability and promoting food security for underserved communities;
2. Demonstrate innovative and integrated agrifood waste-insect rearing-frass fertilizer systems at 5 demonstration sites (1 farm in AR, 3 farms in SC, and 1 demonstration farm in NC and SC), showcasing this work at 2 1890s outreach events (one field day in SC and one field day in NC), directly training 250 farmers on benefits of insect meal and frass fertilizer;
3. Deliver lessons learned on converting agrifood waste into animal protein and high-value organic fertilizer through 2 technical bulletins in English and Spanish to nearly 40,000 individuals in the NCAT and non-profit Rhythmic Alliance for Community Sustainability (RACS) networks, reaching Latin and African Americans, tribal farmers, women in agriculture, 5,000 veterans in the Armed to Farm program, and economically and educationally disadvantaged groups in the Southeastern US;
4. Transfer information and share experiences through 1 NCAT-led workshop and 2 podcast episodes (NCAT “Voices from the Field”) to promote insect farming as a food waste management strategy and frass fertilizer as a sustainable and viable fertilizer source, creating future marketing opportunities that mutually benefit agricultural producers and consumers.

Information derived from this project will enhance whole systems’ sustainability by 1) upcycling farm/household waste as feed for insects, 2) providing a sustainable protein source for farm animals while sustaining meat production and quality, and 3) producing frass fertilizer for crops/vegetables that will feed animals or humans, which in turn, will keep generating agrifood waste that can be used for insect rearing (Figure 1). Research will optimize insect rearing-frass fertilizer-cropping systems and generate basic agronomic information about insect frass composition as affected by food waste/diets/insect species, nutrient release from various frass sources, and frass application rates that improve crop yields and quality and enhance environmental health. Education and outreach efforts will inform communities in rural America how to use commercially available, easy-to-manage insects to upcycle agrifood waste; then, these insects can be used as high-quality protein source for farm animals, replacing or complementing corn and soybean meal, and the frass resulting from the insect rearing will provide a low cost N-P-K source, that can be used as an organic fertilizer for pasture, row crop, or vegetable systems, or sold in local markets, thereby generating additional revenue and allowing for income diversification.