A U.S. Department of Agriculture study in Mississippi shows that swine manure doesn’t appear to bring dangerous bacteria to soils when it is spread on fields and used to grow hay, a common southern U.S. practice.
The fields tested – on five farms and 20 soil types – had been sprayed with manure for 15 years or more. There was no difference in the amount of E. coli and Enterococcus found in sprayed and unsprayed fields. Campylobacter and Salmonella enteritidis could not be cultured in a significant amount from the spray fields. An analysis of data from three public health districts found no difference in the number of reported disease incidence between areas with concentrated animal feeding operations and those without.