Insect and Manure Management in Poultry Systems: Elements Relative to Food Safety and Nuisance Issues

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Many pest flies and beetles are associated with animal agriculture because they live and breed in the manure. Manure is also a source of pathogens that cause foodborne illnesses. This project investigates the effects of manure management on the production of flies and beetles in the spread of pathogens relative to foodborne disease. The use of integrated pest management is expected to redue the prevalence of pest insects and disease agents on the farm and within the community, and provide for a safer food supply.

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APPROACH: Filth flies and stored product insects are associated with human activity. Although these insects may enter the hone, they are frequently associated with animal agriculture because they live and breed in the mnaure, spoiled feeds and other organic materials on the farm. Management of these pests is difficult. Currently industry standards for handling manure include deep stack (caged layer) and litter (meat birds). These systems will serve as the standard to which all other manure-handling systems are compared across regions. Other systems will include black soldier fly digestion, in-house composting, outdoor composting, remove and cover, and field incorporation. Effects of these treatments on pests will be evaluated. Standard monitoring methods will be developed to facilitate outdoor pest management. Traps willb e evaluated and fly and beetle migration monitored. In addition to flies and other manure-breeding insects, animal wastes contain known foodborne pathogens. The role of these insects in the trnsmission of foodborne pathogens will be investigated. Trageted organisms include: E. coli, Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, and Campylobacter jejuni. Management practices to be developed include insecticide resistance monitoring to maximize chemical, biological and cultural control straategies. Information gained in this project will be developed for each state's extension outreach effort.
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PROGRESS: 2001/10 TO 2007/09<BR>
OUTPUTS: Black soldier fly (BSF) prepupae were dried and milled into an oily protein meal. This meal was tested against high quality fish meal ($500 per ton) in catfish diet. The catfish diets containing 7%, 15% and 30% bsf prepupae and soymeal supported better growth than the fishmeal standard. BSF larvae reduced Salmonella enteritidus in hen manure by 2 to 3.5 logs (up to 1,435 billion cfu) in a 75g, 3 day bioassay. Bsf larval digestion may make manure safer for use in organic produce production. BSF digested swine manure residue was a dry granular material with an earth odor. Bsf digested manure residue contained a 56% and 41% reduced concentrations of N & P, respectively. After allowing for reduction in mass, N & P were reduced 78% and 71%. Pigs were held over four shallow basins with soldier fly larvae digesting the manure in two basins. Soldier fly digestion reduced nutrients as follows: N-71%, P-52%. A1, B, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, S, and Zn were reduced 38 to 93%. Headspace air in vials holding hen and swine manure with and without black soldier fly larvae was compared for malodorous chemicals. Differences in chemicals were determined with chromatography associated with mass spectroscopy. The chemical which were affected include the methyl ester of heptanoic acid, acetic acid, 2-furanocarboxaldehyde, propanoic acid, isovaleric acid, valeric acid, caproic acid and p-cresol. These were reduced or eliminated by larval activity within 24 hours. Soldier fly larvae can digest proteins and fats that are problematic in composting or vermiculture, thus offering new waste management solutions. A replicated 51 d trial was conducted to compare channel catfish growth in aquaria on complete pelleted diets containing 8% menhaden fish meal or 7.5%, 15%, 22.5% or 30% black soldier fly prepupae meal. Net gain per tank was numerically higher for all prepupae diets than for the fishmeal diet. Replicated 9 week feeding studies, replaced fishmeal with black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, prepupae meal in diets fed to rainbow trout, oncorhynchus mykiss, fingerlings. Prepupae meal was replaced at up to 25% of the fishmeal and 38% of the fish oil with no adverse effects on feed conversion rations. In associated tests, soldier fly larvae that were fed fish offal mixed with manure incorporated with alpha-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenic acid, and decosahexaenoic acid (commonly called omega 3 fatty acids) into their biomass. Larvae fed fish offal and manure mixture, rather than only manure had 8% more lipids and about 2.5% of this was omega 3 fatty acids. These omega 3 fatty acid enhanced prepupae may be more suitable for replacing fishmeal than larvae fed only manure. <BR> <BR>
IMPACT: 2001/10 TO 2007/09<BR>
Black soldier fly larval digestion of manure or waste food can greatly reduce odors and environmental nutrient overload. At a recent NOAA sponsored meeting on fishmeal alternatives to support aquaculture, a group of representatives fromt he feed and aquaculture industries, and from regulatory agencies and academia voted that black soldier fly prepupae be included in the first tier of products to develop.