Due to persistent herbicide problems that have affected compost operations throughout the country, we no longer receive horse manure for composting.
Herbicides are chemicals that are used to treat unwanted weeds in hayfields. Persistent herbicides contain active ingredients that have the ability to travel from the hay, through the horse, and end up in the manure. Very small amounts of tainted manure can contaminate a large volume of compost because the composting process will not break down the chemical compounds. The impact of planting in tainted compost is poor plant growth or worse, plant death.