So, I am riding the train right now on my way to some meetings on energy in Sacramento and we just passed Fresno.  I noticed an almond orchard being removed north of Wasco and the trees were being chipped.  I think most of the chips will go to the incinerator in Delano for electricity.  Then the train passed by a couple very large dairies just south of Corcoran.  Huge piles of manure were visible at one dairy just west of the train and just south of a private prison. 

My thought was this:  incinerating the wood chips and letting the manure rot in the open air may not be the best use of these resources.  The two items mixed together should make some pretty good compost which could be returned to the soil.  I know we import nitrogen fertilizer from overseas and it is made from natural gas.  Yet, we seem to be wasting local resources.

Any opinions on whether this kind of compost would be useful?  I am involved with farming locally but I have never heard anyone talk about the feasibility of composting the manure with the wood chips instead of the current practices which do not seem too environmentally friendly.