Each year, U.S. farmers use about 3.7 billion pounds of phosphorus fertilizer, which is mined from underground phosphorus deposits around the world. Now, a team of U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers has found a way to extract phosphorus from poultry manure. In 2006, the United States produced 9 million broilers and a large volume of litter rich in phosphorus and nitrogen, according to information from the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service. Although poultry litter is typically used by farmers to fertilize their field crops, it usually contains more phosphorus than the crops need. The excess phosphorus can wash away and pollute […]