Assessing the Market for Poultry Litter in Georgia: Are Subsidies Needed to Protect Water Quality?

Abstract

Concerns about nutrient loads into our waters have focused attention on poultry litter applications. Like many states with a large poultry industry, Georgia recently designed a subsidy program to facilitate the transportation of poultry litter out of vulnerable watersheds. This paper uses a transportation model to examine the necessity of a poultry litter subsidy to achieve water protection goals in Georgia. We also demonstrate the relationship between diesel and synthetic fertilizer prices and the value of poultry litter. Results suggest that a well-functioning market would be able to remove excess litter from vulnerable watersheds in the absence of a subsidy.