Organic Value Recovery Solutions LLC
© Organic Value Recovery Solutions 2010
© Organic Value Recovery Solutions 2010
Environmentally Sustainable Hog Barns
Now Possible
With
The Value Added Soldier Fly Manure Management System
Introducing a completely new concept that:
Reduces manure odors by 91%
Eliminates hog lagoons
Solves community relation problems
Turns hogs into a sought-after industry
Produces high-value feedstuff comparable to fish meal (appx. $1000/ton) which can be economically hauled long distances and
eliminates local nutrient overload and solves many manure disposal and land-spreading problems
Reduces the volume of feces by over 50%
Reduces nutrients in hog feces by about 80%
The dry residue is excellent fertilizer
Eliminates pest flies
The system is adaptable to other waste streams, such as poultry manure or food waste
A Natural Process for Manure Reduction
Dr. Craig Sheppard and Dr. Larry Newton are considered the world experts on the black soldier fly manure management system.
Larvae of the black soldier fly occur naturally in very dense populations and lend themselves to industrial scale commodity
production (1). When fed fresh hog feces, they produce insect biomass with nutritional value comparable to fish meal (2). This
biomass can be gathered and dried more economically than fish meal (2) and the resulting feedstuff will find ready markets
worldwide (3). Many other even more valuable products are possible. As the larvae consume the fresh hog feces, they remove
75% - 80% of the nitrates and phosphates from the feces and reduce the volume by 50% or more. This reduced volume of nutrient
depleted residue requires much less acreage for environmentally sound land application.
Odor Reduction
When the larvae quickly assimilate these nutrients into their biomass, the nutrients are not available to bacteria that grow in
manure. Bacteria growing in manure produce the extremely noxious gases like butyric and caproic acids. By competing with
bacteria, the larvae reduce or eliminate odors. In carefully controlled experiments, these gases were measured with gas
chromatography-mass spectroscopy. Soldier fly larval digestion of swine feces eliminated 97%-100% of the five most offensive
gases. On average, all eight gases measured a 91% reduction.
Self-Harvesting, High Value Feedstuff
Harvesting the larvae from the manure is a simple process. As the larvae mature, they become migratory prepupae and crawl out
of the manure basins in a self-collection system. The prepupae meal produced from this process is about 42% protein, 35% lipid,
5% calcium, 1.5% phosphorus, 3.4% lysine and 1% methionine/cystine. The lipids contain about 54% lauric acid which has been
shown to be active against viruses, including HIV, measeles, clostridium and many pathogens. Early studies showed that poultry,
swine, tilapia, and catfish grew well on diets including whole soldier fly prepupae or larvae.
Recent, more refined studies have shown that dried milled soldier fly prepupae are a good substitute for fish meal. A replicated
aquaria feeding trial with catfish showed that a diet containing 7.5% prepupae meal performed at least as well as a similar diet
formulated with 8.0% Menhaden fish meal. Similar feeding trials with rainbow trout demonstrated that 25% of the fish meal in a diet
could be replaced with prepupae meal without affecting growth. In practice, we expect to market protein and fat separated from the
chitin. This will allow better feed formulations and acceptance by the target animal. We expect the separated chitin to also be a
valuable product. We expect the prepupae feedstuff to be well accepted in a world where proteins are in ever-increasing demand.
Fish meal prices have gone from about $350/ton to well over $1000/ton in the last nine years. Limited supplies of fish meal are
becoming an increasingly serious impediment to needed expansion of aquaculture production.
The NOAA/USDA Alternative Feeds Initiative (Feeds Initiative) was begun to encourage development of protein feedstuffs that can
replace fish meal. Their webiste notes “...high cost of fish meal and oil–and growing pressure on the wild fisheries that supply the
fish meal and fish oil–are adding up to make alternative feeds one of the top issues facing the global aquaculture industry, fueling
research on sustainable alternative feed ingredients.” At the National Stakeholders Meeting on Alternative Feeds for Aquaculture
held April 30, 2008 at NOAA headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, the 60-plus attendees (from aquaculture, feed industry,
government, academia and NGSs) voted “insect meal” into the top tier of three ingredients to develop. These three ingredients,
poultry by-products, industrial and food by-products and insect meal, all tied for 1st place. Food industry and poultry by-products
are “mature” well-understood commodities and any significant expansion of supply is unlikely. Of the several insects that have
been proposed for industrial scale feedstuff production, only flies have received serious consideration from the scientific
community. Only fly larvae can be fed materials with extremely low economic value and produce high-value feedstuff. The best
candidate for industrial feedstuff production is the non-pest black soldier fly (read attached “Insect Digestion of Manure” white
paper report). This insect could produce 1.8 million tons of high quality insect meal per year from U.S. swine manure alone (see
attached public comment for the NOAA Feeds Initiative “Black Soldier Fly...”).
“Designer” and Organic Feeds
Supplementation of substrates for production of “designer” prepupae is highly desirable to increase the amount of omega-3 fatty
acids and adapt the final composition to specific needs of aquaculture species. Diets for brood stock, especially shrimp and
marine finfish, will benefit from designer soldier fly prepupae containing high lipid, high omega-3 concentrations. Designer soldier
fly prepupae will not be GMO, and may use substrates of “organic” origin to supply the food stock to produce “organic” and
enriched feed-grade protein concentrate. The unique and controlled nature of soldier fly prepupae production allows for
manipulation of the final nutrient composition of the product. This aspect provides an advantage over many protein products with
variable source and manufacturing characteristics that change product composition, including fish meal, poultry by-product meal,
and meat-and-bone meal.
Eliminates Pest Flies
In moderately dense populations of black soldier fly larvae, house fly larvae cannot grow and become flies. Female house flies
usually will not lay their eggs where there are soldier fly larvae. The mother fly “knows” her offspring cannot compete there. Black
soldier flies are not a pest species as adults seek wild environments. Although common in the southern U.S., most people never
see them. Also, adult production is carefully controlled in this system.
Sustainable Development
Black soldier fly upgrade lower value materials (hog manure) into a source of animal protein which has a much higher value,
especially as an ingredient in diets for fish. When these lower value resources (such as hog manure, waste food, by-products of
the alcoholic beverage or ethanol industry, or animal manure) are consumed by the black soldier fly, the process also serves as a
treatment that reduces the volume and nutrient content of the starting material. This is especially important, for increasing
sustainability, in the case of animal manures (which are often produced in excess of local demand) and materials that would
otherwise end up in landfills.
Captive Adapted Breeding Population
Over the last several years, Dr. Sheppard has maintained a captive breeding population of the black soldier fly. Over many
generations, this insect has become adapted to indoor propagation and better suited to industrial scale production. The intensive
system to produce larvae in commodity quantities is a proprietary system developed by the leading world experts in black soldier
fly production.
.
Literature Cited
1. Lorimor, Jeffery, Ron Sheffield, Ted Funk, Charles Fulhage, Ruihang Zhang, Craig Sheppard, Larry Newton. 2001. Manure
Management Strategies/Technologies White Paper. Prepared for the National Center for Manure and Animal Waste
Management.
2. Sheppard, D. C., G. L. Newton and G. Burtle. 2007. Black Soldier Fly Prepupae–A Compelling Alternative to Fish Meal and
Fish Oil. A Public Comment for the NOAA-USDA Alternative Feeds Initiative.
3. Sheppard, C., G. Burtle and L. Newton. 2008. The Future of Aquafeeds in 2013, Fishmeal Replacement with Black Soldier
Fly Prepupae. A prediction prepared for the NOAA-USDA Alternative Feeds Initiative.
© Organic Value Recovery Solutions 2010
© Organic Value Recovery Solutions 2010
Environmentally Sustainable Hog Barns
Now Possible
With
The Value Added Soldier Fly Manure Management System
Introducing a completely new concept that:
Reduces manure odors by 91%
Eliminates hog lagoons
Solves community relation problems
Turns hogs into a sought-after industry
Produces high-value feedstuff comparable to fish meal (appx. $1000/ton) which can be economically hauled long distances and
eliminates local nutrient overload and solves many manure disposal and land-spreading problems
Reduces the volume of feces by over 50%
Reduces nutrients in hog feces by about 80%
The dry residue is excellent fertilizer
Eliminates pest flies
The system is adaptable to other waste streams, such as poultry manure or food waste
A Natural Process for Manure Reduction
Dr. Craig Sheppard and Dr. Larry Newton are considered the world experts on the black soldier fly manure management system.
Larvae of the black soldier fly occur naturally in very dense populations and lend themselves to industrial scale commodity
production (1). When fed fresh hog feces, they produce insect biomass with nutritional value comparable to fish meal (2). This
biomass can be gathered and dried more economically than fish meal (2) and the resulting feedstuff will find ready markets
worldwide (3). Many other even more valuable products are possible. As the larvae consume the fresh hog feces, they remove
75% - 80% of the nitrates and phosphates from the feces and reduce the volume by 50% or more. This reduced volume of nutrient
depleted residue requires much less acreage for environmentally sound land application.
Odor Reduction
When the larvae quickly assimilate these nutrients into their biomass, the nutrients are not available to bacteria that grow in
manure. Bacteria growing in manure produce the extremely noxious gases like butyric and caproic acids. By competing with
bacteria, the larvae reduce or eliminate odors. In carefully controlled experiments, these gases were measured with gas
chromatography-mass spectroscopy. Soldier fly larval digestion of swine feces eliminated 97%-100% of the five most offensive
gases. On average, all eight gases measured a 91% reduction.
Self-Harvesting, High Value Feedstuff
Harvesting the larvae from the manure is a simple process. As the larvae mature, they become migratory prepupae and crawl out
of the manure basins in a self-collection system. The prepupae meal produced from this process is about 42% protein, 35% lipid,
5% calcium, 1.5% phosphorus, 3.4% lysine and 1% methionine/cystine. The lipids contain about 54% lauric acid which has been
shown to be active against viruses, including HIV, measeles, clostridium and many pathogens. Early studies showed that poultry,
swine, tilapia, and catfish grew well on diets including whole soldier fly prepupae or larvae.
Recent, more refined studies have shown that dried milled soldier fly prepupae are a good substitute for fish meal. A replicated
aquaria feeding trial with catfish showed that a diet containing 7.5% prepupae meal performed at least as well as a similar diet
formulated with 8.0% Menhaden fish meal. Similar feeding trials with rainbow trout demonstrated that 25% of the fish meal in a diet
could be replaced with prepupae meal without affecting growth. In practice, we expect to market protein and fat separated from the
chitin. This will allow better feed formulations and acceptance by the target animal. We expect the separated chitin to also be a
valuable product. We expect the prepupae feedstuff to be well accepted in a world where proteins are in ever-increasing demand.
Fish meal prices have gone from about $350/ton to well over $1000/ton in the last nine years. Limited supplies of fish meal are
becoming an increasingly serious impediment to needed expansion of aquaculture production.
The NOAA/USDA Alternative Feeds Initiative (Feeds Initiative) was begun to encourage development of protein feedstuffs that can
replace fish meal. Their webiste notes “...high cost of fish meal and oil–and growing pressure on the wild fisheries that supply the
fish meal and fish oil–are adding up to make alternative feeds one of the top issues facing the global aquaculture industry, fueling
research on sustainable alternative feed ingredients.” At the National Stakeholders Meeting on Alternative Feeds for Aquaculture
held April 30, 2008 at NOAA headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, the 60-plus attendees (from aquaculture, feed industry,
government, academia and NGSs) voted “insect meal” into the top tier of three ingredients to develop. These three ingredients,
poultry by-products, industrial and food by-products and insect meal, all tied for 1st place. Food industry and poultry by-products
are “mature” well-understood commodities and any significant expansion of supply is unlikely. Of the several insects that have
been proposed for industrial scale feedstuff production, only flies have received serious consideration from the scientific
community. Only fly larvae can be fed materials with extremely low economic value and produce high-value feedstuff. The best
candidate for industrial feedstuff production is the non-pest black soldier fly (read attached “Insect Digestion of Manure” white
paper report). This insect could produce 1.8 million tons of high quality insect meal per year from U.S. swine manure alone (see
attached public comment for the NOAA Feeds Initiative “Black Soldier Fly...”).
“Designer” and Organic Feeds
Supplementation of substrates for production of “designer” prepupae is highly desirable to increase the amount of omega-3 fatty
acids and adapt the final composition to specific needs of aquaculture species. Diets for brood stock, especially shrimp and
marine finfish, will benefit from designer soldier fly prepupae containing high lipid, high omega-3 concentrations. Designer soldier
fly prepupae will not be GMO, and may use substrates of “organic” origin to supply the food stock to produce “organic” and
enriched feed-grade protein concentrate. The unique and controlled nature of soldier fly prepupae production allows for
manipulation of the final nutrient composition of the product. This aspect provides an advantage over many protein products with
variable source and manufacturing characteristics that change product composition, including fish meal, poultry by-product meal,
and meat-and-bone meal.
Eliminates Pest Flies
In moderately dense populations of black soldier fly larvae, house fly larvae cannot grow and become flies. Female house flies
usually will not lay their eggs where there are soldier fly larvae. The mother fly “knows” her offspring cannot compete there. Black
soldier flies are not a pest species as adults seek wild environments. Although common in the southern U.S., most people never
see them. Also, adult production is carefully controlled in this system.
Sustainable Development
Black soldier fly upgrade lower value materials (hog manure) into a source of animal protein which has a much higher value,
especially as an ingredient in diets for fish. When these lower value resources (such as hog manure, waste food, by-products of
the alcoholic beverage or ethanol industry, or animal manure) are consumed by the black soldier fly, the process also serves as a
treatment that reduces the volume and nutrient content of the starting material. This is especially important, for increasing
sustainability, in the case of animal manures (which are often produced in excess of local demand) and materials that would
otherwise end up in landfills.
Captive Adapted Breeding Population
Over the last several years, Dr. Sheppard has maintained a captive breeding population of the black soldier fly. Over many
generations, this insect has become adapted to indoor propagation and better suited to industrial scale production. The intensive
system to produce larvae in commodity quantities is a proprietary system developed by the leading world experts in black soldier
fly production.
.
Literature Cited
1. Lorimor, Jeffery, Ron Sheffield, Ted Funk, Charles Fulhage, Ruihang Zhang, Craig Sheppard, Larry Newton. 2001. Manure
Management Strategies/Technologies White Paper. Prepared for the National Center for Manure and Animal Waste
Management.
2. Sheppard, D. C., G. L. Newton and G. Burtle. 2007. Black Soldier Fly Prepupae–A Compelling Alternative to Fish Meal and
Fish Oil. A Public Comment for the NOAA-USDA Alternative Feeds Initiative.
3. Sheppard, C., G. Burtle and L. Newton. 2008. The Future of Aquafeeds in 2013, Fishmeal Replacement with Black Soldier
Fly Prepupae. A prediction prepared for the NOAA-USDA Alternative Feeds Initiative.
