Waste is a byproduct of every industry, including those that produce food. Farm waste management is a practice that endeavors to remove waste in ways that are affordable, sustainable, and effective.

Agricultural waste includes manure, animal bedding, leaves, clippings, and even scraps from the kitchen. Farm waste may be natural, chemical-based, animal-based, medical-based, or plant-based. If it is not managed, the waste can pollute water and air and also disrupt the process of farming.

A variety of methods are available for disposing of farm waste.

Kitchen waste or crop wastage can be turned into fertilizer and bioenergy through composting. Composting uses natural bacteria and other microorganisms to naturally break down refuse into a safer, more usable form. Compost can be spread over fields and used to feed plants without the need to supplement much with chemical fertilizers.

Feeding livestock animals directly with kitchen leftovers is one way to cut down on waste. Pigs are good consumers of leftovers, as they are omnivorous animals that tend to eat anything. The United States Environmental Protection Agency urges anyone who wants to participate in recycling food waste for animal feed to contact a local solid waste public health agency or county agricultural extension agency for more information. This way, the food waste can be easily handled and safely controlled.

Cow and horse manure can be added to traditional compost piles, but swine and other omnivores' waste may contain bacteria not suited to such composting. According to the resource ManureToFertilizer.com, pig manure stored in a cesspool needs to be pumped into a solid liquid separator to remove extra water. Solids can be mixed with straw or sawdust to adjust the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and spread out in rows to dry. Farmers also can look to products like Microbe-Lift, which breaks down waste and reduces toxic gases to enhance manure management.

Waste from farms can be turned into other products. For example, corn cobs, bagasse, rice straw, and husks can be turned into silica, a nonmetallic element that is great for the skin, hair, nails, and bones. Fats from animals can be made into soaps, as can cocoa pods.

Non-organic material, such as chemical waste, will need to be managed according to local regulations. Broken equipment can be taken to recycling facilities to ensure it does not end up in landfills.

Farm waste management is just another piece of any agricultural operation.