Farmers fertilize with sewage


Many Linn County farmers are enhancing their soil with biosolids from wastewater plants in Linn and Benton counties.

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Many Linn County farmers are enhancing their soil with biosolids from wastewater plants in Linn and Benton counties.

“We use it for crops,” said John Marble, who has a grazing operation south of Crawfordsville. “It’s an important part of our process.”

“It’s not like chemical fertilizers,” Marble said. “The biosolids bring the organic content of the soil up and increases the soil’s ability to hold water. It allows us to extend our growing season farther into the summer.”

Albany and Corvallis wastewater facilities provide the material and spread it with application vehicles. The operation shuts down during the rainy season to avoid run-off.

Distribution varies by crop but trucks generally spread about 120 pounds per acre on 3 or 4 acres a day.

Read more at Capital Press.

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