Composting With Gypsum Economical for Local Farmer
“We used to think we composted,” rancher Chuck Swanson said as a massive piece of equipment roared down a row of manure and gypsum on his family farm.

A composter mows through about 100 metres of manure, piled about six feet high to help Swanson get better bang for his buck.

Composting “is just starting to become economical” to use as fertilizer on his fields Swanson said. The rising price of commercial fertilizers is making this more appealing. Not only that, it’s recycling, in more ways than one.

The large composter does nothing more than basically till the manure and ignite an aerobic process that kills pathogens, such as E. Coli and Salmonella, in addition to eliminating the odour itself. The temperature of the inside of the pile is estimated to reach at least 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

Garth Burnett of Eckville, who helped bring the composter from Lacombe to Swanson’s ranch one mile east and six miles north of Provost, said after a few “turns” of the manure the final product will be much like peat moss— relatively odourless, black, and have a shelf life of years, unlike regular manure that loses nutrients as long as it’s exposed to the air.

The smell of manure is the methane being released into the air. Swanson combats this by mixing in gypsum, which comes from unused drywall for housing projects in Edmonton and Red Deer.