Jay Bailey "in the news".

[near horse]

I saw this in a newsletter on sustainable farming. Jay, do you have any more info to add?

Can human urine be a viable alternative to chemical fertilizers? A research project in Vermont is testing this out. “Urine contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium — essential plant nutrients that are usually mined from the earth or the air for agricultural use … Jay Bailey, who owns and operates Fair Wind Farms with his wife Janet Bailey, volunteered a few hay fields for the initial stages of the project in 2012. He spread a urine solution from the Brattleboro [VT] volunteers over the crops from a horse-drawn applicator and, come harvest time, observed that urine-treated fields were twice as productive as unfertilized controls.”

[grey]

I would think that one of the big drawbacks to using human urine on crops would be residuals from medicines and drugs. Like the dairy line, you’d have to make sure your sources were clean. I know some people are a veritable walking pharmaceutical cabinet.

[grey]

I go to great lengths to capture the urine component of my horses’ wastes from the tie stalls. Makes my compost piles cook much hotter and makes a better finished product. But if I had a way to divert some of it – say, with a gutter – to capture it in a tank, I would definitely dilute it at add it to the garden in that fashion. But I know everything that goes into my horses and I wouldn’t hesitate to put their urine on my crops (at the appropriate time of the growing season).

[Jay]

We have done the project for 2 years now. This coming summer we are specifically testing for pharmaceuticals, in the urine, in the forage and in a special test spot in the groundwater runoff. The labs that will be doing the testing are labs that have been testing for these chemicals in foods, etc. for years and are well versed in what and how to look for evidence of the drugs.
One of the fascinating things about this project is just how excited people are to collect and bring in their own urine. It seems to empower them – they have part ownership in the project and they are proud to be DOING SOMETHING positive that has some direct relevance to their lives.
The urine seems to do best put on straight(not diluted) later in the day – when things are starting to cool down to avoid too much evaporation of the ammonia and applied through hoses trailing on the ground.
It works well when applied to a strong stand that just needs a little extra to give more for a good 2nd cut.
I am very pleased with what its doing for us.
Apparently there have been studies done in Europe Africa and Asia, but not on this side of the Atlantic till now. Jay

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