This paper develops some general hypotheses about producer practices relating to manure land application and examines current swine waste manure handling practices, land application methods, and potential land constraints based on a pilot survey of Oklahoma swine producers. This survey is undertaken to determine the actual importance of land and transportation cost constraints in this region and thereby assist policy makers in identifying potential causes for manure over-application. Based on a limited sample from our pilot survey, we find some evidence to support transportation-cost hypotheses about manure waste management: that transportation costs affect the distribution of swine waste on individual Oklahoma Farms.
The paper provides an overview of existing theory relating to the economics of land application of manure given possible land constraints and manure transportation costs. It then discusses regulation and policy relating to the land application of manure. Preliminary results of a pilot survey of Oklahoma swine producers are then presented. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of Oklahoma manure management practices for policy design.