By John Lovett
With insect farming projected to produce millions of tons of insects in the coming years, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station researchers offer evidence that the insect farming byproduct called “frass” can improve soil health and reduce insect damage in soybean crops.
Insect frass includes manure, as well as the insects’ molted skin and any leftover insect food. In addition to poultry feed, insects are grown as feed for fish, emerging markets in swine and pet food, as well as human food in energy bars.
“For every 1 pound of insect meal, you get up to four times more frass, so the question came up whether it could be used as a soil amendment,” said Helen Amorim, lead author of the study and a research scientist with the experiment station in the department of crop, soil and environmental sciences. Amorim is also part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service in the Poultry Production and Product Safety Research Unit in Fayetteville. The experiment station is the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.