Farm fertilizers going green

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By Melanie Dabovich

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The tradition of farming the land in northern New Mexico's Espanola Valley had been passed down from Don Bustos' Spanish ancestors who tilled the same soil centuries earlier.

But when Mr. Bustos realized the traditional farming techniques he was using could harm his children's health, he went organic 15 years ago. Now, Mr. Bustos said he has found an even safer method - vegan organic farming without any animal fertilizers or byproducts.

Much like certified organic farmers, veganic farmers use no synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified ingredients. Veganic farmers take it to another level by not using any manures or slaughterhouse byproducts. They don't even use organically approved pesticides.

Salmonella and E. coli are bacteria that live in the intestines of livestock and are present in their waste. Livestock waste, or manure, can be used to fertilize fields, potentially contaminating crops with the disease-causing bacteria.

Crops also can be contaminated by contact with infected animals or their byproducts, including bone meal and blood meal, which are also used as fertilizer.

Veganic farmers use crop rotations and composted plant matter - or "green manure" - to fertilize their crops.

Mr. Bustos, 51, was inspired to pursue veganic farming four years ago after listening to then-U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns speak.

"He was talking about ways to protect the safety of our food system, but to me you still have things like E. coli and salmonella from manure [fertilizer]," Mr. Bustos said.

The method, also called stock-free farming, is an emerging concept in the United States.

Stephane Groleau, co-founder of the Veganic Agriculture Network based in Quebec, said he is aware of only a dozen veganic farms or gardeners in the U.S.

He said the farming method is more popular in England and Europe because of lack of available land for raising livestock and concerns over livestock diseases transferring to humans.

Veganic growers say their methods reduce environmental impact by using less land, conserving water and producing fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

The practice, they say, is also cheaper than traditional farming and organic farming.

Experts say veganic farming has yet to be proven as the method for better growing practices because of its obscurity on the American farm scene.

"It's a new enough concept that benefits haven't been demonstrated one way or the other, either economically or from a quality standpoint," said Charles Martin, assistant professor at New Mexico State University's Sustainable Agriculture Science Center.