WATTPoultry.com and National Hog Farmer feature Hutchinson training on composting animal carcasses

WATTPoultry.com and National Hog Farmer reported that Oklahoma State University hosted a carcass management training in mid-May to teach animal production industry and U.S. Department of Agriculture professionals the basics of composting. Mark Hutchinson, University of Maine Cooperative Extension professor for sustainable agriculture, is the head of the federally funded, multi-state program, Train-the-Trainer, which teaches attendees how to use composting to dispose of animal carcasses in the event of an animal disease outbreak. “When you have a disease outbreak, the USDA’s policy is to stamp that disease out. Those animals have to be disposed of, and through the composting process, we can do it in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way and end up with a product that can be recycled and put back into the earth,” Hutchinson said.