Commentary

    As I heard the national news describing farmers testifying in the U.S. Senate about the cost of fertilizer increases which parallel the cost of gasoline, I came to realize that we in this country have an uncommon opportunity to free ourselves from the bondage of the oil producers.

    And how do we do this?  There are 12,000 chicken houses in Georgia alone.  Each house produces, as a RENEWABLE resource, a half ton of chicken litter everyday.  After going through the analysis process, I find that 4-2-2 organic fertilizer costs about as much as chemical fertilizer for farm use.  The slow release natural process makes it perfect for all plants except nitrogen intense row crops and significantly leverages the value.  WE NOW HAVE A NATURAL, SLOW RELEASE, RENEWABLE RESOURCE TO FURNISH PLANT FOOD FOR A GREAT PORTION OF AGRICULTURALLY IMPORTANT PLANTS IN THIS COUNTRY.

    Bear in mind that chemical fertilizer requires 42 gallons of petroleum to produce 110 pounds of nitrogen fertilizer.  So, if we could reduce our petroleum required for fertilizer alone by 10% , what would that do to the price of oil?  As we produce more chicken, then we have more organic fertilizer and less dependence on the oil producers.

    There are challenges in the implementation of procedures which will free us from the long-standing bondage of oil producers but mostly it is the ability to get it from where it is to where it ain't.  What an opportunity to change the basic way the country GROWS and GOES!  A situation and opportunity like this only comes along so infrequently that we often don't recognize it lying there among the numerous apparent opportunities.