A study from the University of Arkansas Agriculture Experiment Station finds that a byproduct of insect farming can help improve soil health and reduce insect damage to some crops, including soybeans.
Amanda Ashworth, acting leader at the Poultry Production and Product Safety Research Unit and a soil scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture at the U of A, says the material, called frass, is a mixture of insect manure, molted skin and insect food, and is a more sustainable fertilizer compared to something like chicken litter.
“It's more sustainable than corn and soybean meal because they require about two to 14 times less land and require five times less water. It is high in nitrogen, which is the most limiting nutrient for plant production and crop growth. It also has virtually no heavy metals and has a high carbon ratio. And so we can increase water-holding capacity and it is a very promising soil amendment.”
The study, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, used black soldier fly frass as a soil amendment for soybeans and switchgrass crops.
Helen Amorim, a research scientist with the experiment station, says the frass experiments have shown promising results, reducing insect leaf damage by 38 to 45 percent. She says using this insect byproduct helps reduce food waste and can have economic benefits, too.
“Like lately, when you find cheaper and cleaner solutions for farmers, you're also affecting the price of things at the grocery store. So if you find something that is more cheaper and — I don't know, it's a nice solution compared to the standards — that's going to affect the price for consumers as well.”
The next phase of the study is to work with different types of frass frequency and use on other crops.
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