Insect droppings, also called insect frass, may seem like a strange addition to fertilizer, but researchers have found that bug waste can improve soil health and reshape the future of sustainable agriculture.
As Earth.com reported, insect frass is a combination of droppings, feed, and molted skins. This excrement comes from yellow mealworms, banded crickets, and black soldier flies that farmers raise as insect feed for livestock as a more eco-friendly alternative to traditional animal feed.
This "mini-livestock," as farmers call it, serves as a sustainable food source for animals and can also add crucial nutrients to fertilizers. Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture found that insect frass contains more carbon and nitrogen than fertilizers derived from dirty fuels such as natural gas.
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Not enough time ⏳ So, adding insect droppings to fertilizer would improve plant growth and reduce the environmental impact of fertilizer production. In addition, the research team found that fertilizer made from bug waste has fewer pathogens than animal manure, making it safer for public health and livestock.
In a two-year study published in the journal Scientific Reports, the team discovered that frass from yellow mealworm doubled the amount of carbon and tripled the nitrogen content compared to fertilizers made of ammonium nitrate, which pollutes the air and water. Soils with insect frass produced similar crop yields as those mixed with poultry litter and ammonium nitrate, proving that bug waste can be a viable alternative to traditional fertilizers.
"Insect frass substantially improved soil fertility which showed its ability to be used as an alternative to inorganic fertilizers," Amanda Ashworth, a soil scientist at the Agricultural Research Service in Arkansas, said in a statement.
"This is important since insect farming is on the rise and circular agricultural systems (agricultural by-products that are recycled back into production systems) can be sustainable avenues for growing foods in the future."
Farmers and researchers have already shared promising results after feeding livestock sustainable foods such as seaweed and discarded produce. Now, insects could provide a planet-friendly protein addition to their diets while ensuring humans have a reliable food supply in the future.
The Vietnamese startup Entobel is already using black soldier flies to make sustainable animal feed protein and soil fertilizer, signaling a shift toward insect-based agriculture. Bug-based fertilizers will reduce the strain on natural resources and help humanity move toward a more regenerative food system.
According to Earth.com, the insect farming industry is expected to grow 28% annually and be worth an estimated $8 billion by 2030. Bugs are a hot commodity, and these humble creatures may propel us toward a new era of agriculture.
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