Land Application of Food Processing by-Products: Best Management Practices.

Food processing facilities, especially those using raw fruit and vegetable-base materials, generate various types of by-products or non-hazardous wastes.  The use of land-applied non-hazardous wastes as an agricultural soil amendment is projected to rise because of public concerns regarding environmental impact and economic constraint of their disposal in landfill or incineration, as well as because of presumed inherent agricultural benefits. We monitored fates of food processing by-product constituents through soil profiles and crop removal, and we tracked movements that may influence soil chemical properties and trace element accumulations in plant tissues. The primary goal of this project was to develop meaningful scientific understanding of food processing by-products characteristics and their effects on soil and groundwater quality, and to develop a best management practices (BMPs) manual for sustainable reuse of food processing by-products as a soil amendment. Growers often plant forage crops (e.g., alfalfa, Sudan grass, and silage corn) on sites receiving food processing by-products application prior to planting. We monitored fates of food processing by-product constituents through soil profile, crop removal, and their movements that may influence soil chemical properties and trace element accumulations in plant tissues on various field sites with the history of receiving food processing by-products. We will discuss the critical role of establishing nutrient management plan for utilizing food processing by-products as a soil amendment, their fertilizer-replacement-value, and their impacts on the on-farm soil fertility management program.