Agricultural Wastes

Agricultural waste, which includes both natural (organic) and non-natural wastes, is a general term used to describe waste produced on a farm through various farming activities. These activities can include but are not limited to dairy farming, horticulture, seed growing, livestock breeding, grazing land, market gardens, nursery plots, and even woodlands. Agricultural and food industry residues, refuse and wastes constitute a significant proportion of world wide agricultural productivity. It has variously been estimated that these wastes can account for over 30% of world wide agricultural productivity. The boundaries to accommodate agricultural waste derived from animal agriculture and farming activities are identified in this book. Examples will be provided of how animal agriculture and various practices adopted at farm-scale impact on the environment. When discharged to the environment, agricultural wastes can be both beneficial and detrimental to living matter and the book will therefore also address the pros and cons of waste derived from animal agriculture in today’s environment. Given agricultural wastes are not restricted to a particular location, but rather are distributed widely, their effect on natural resources such as surface and ground waters, soil and crops, as well as human health, will also be addressed.