WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. EPA has issued what it calls a Nutrient Recycling Challenge (NRC) to farmers or anyone else willing to propose new methods or technologies to recycle nutrients from livestock waste.

According to an EPA press release dated Nov. 12, it is teaming up with the USDA and pork and dairy producers, as well as environmental and scientific experts in what the EPA is calling a four-phase competition.

Innovators will turn their concepts into designs and eventually working technologies that farmers will use in pilot projects.

U.S. livestock produce more than a billion tons of manure each year. The manure contains critical fertilizer ingredients, namely phosphorus and nitrogen. Plants need these chemicals to grow. The EPA and industry would like to find better ways to extract nitrogen and phosphorus from manure, to generate products with environmental and economic benefits that farmers could use or sell.

“Scientists and engineers are already building technologies that can recover nutrients, but further development is needed to make them more effective and affordable,” explained EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “The Nutrient Recycling Challenge will harness the power of competition to find solutions that are a win-win for farmers, the environment and the economy.”

NRC partner Smithfield Foods stated it is a “natural partner” in this challenge. The company already has a ready supply of anaerobically-digested manure, which is ideal for powering renewable energy projects and producing valuable fertilizer, said company spokesman Kraig Westerbeek. Westerbeek noted the company would like to encourage more innovation in the management of livestock manure.

Phase 1 of the competition will end on Jan. 15, 2016. Prizes for this phase are scheduled to be announced next March and will include up to $20,000 in cash to be split among up to four semi-finalists. The semi-finalists will be invited to a two-day gathering in Washington and will be entered into subsequent phases of the NRC, which will have larger awards.

Final awards will be announced in January 2017 with farm demonstration pilot projects to follow.

The federal government has hundreds of so-called “challenges” in various government agencies. Challenge.gov administered by the General Services Administration lists challenges and prize competitions, which are run by more than 80 federal agencies. The idea behind all competitions is to seek innovative solutions from the public to solve problems.

All 624 competitions to date are listed, including closed competitions going back to 2010. More about these is available at the website www.challenge.gov

Other partners in the NRC include American Biogas Council, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, Ben & Jerry’s, Cabot Creamery Cooperative, Cooper Farms, CowPots, Dairy Farmers of America, Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, Iowa State University, Marquette University, National Milk Producers Federation, National Pork Producers Council, Nutrient LLC, Strategic Conservation Solutions, Tyson Foods, Washington State University, Water Environment Research Federation and World Wildlife Fund.

For more information on this challenge, go to www.nutrientrecyclingchallenge.org