AMES, Iowa ( IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH ) - A study conducted by agronomists at Iowa State University found that the slurry left over from turning farm waste into fuel could be a valuable soil amendment.

The study, which analyzed 12 years of data on a commercial-sized farm, found that the byproduct of anaerobic digestion can restore soil organic carbon in active cropland and potentially reduce the need for synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.

Fernando Miguez, an agronomy professor and co-author of the study, said the anaerobic digestion systems already work to manage manure and contribute to the production of renewable natural gas, but the study shows that these systems can also improve soil health on a farm.

“So there’s a lot of pluses, a lot of wins in this kind of system,” Miguez said.

The

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