The Aroma of Farming

The aroma of farming What if animals didn't smell, I'm not talking the wet doggy smell or kitty litter that doesn't hold a clump. I am talking that certain odor of farm country. While my Father in Law used to say a feed lot "smelled like money", exurbanites fleeing cities in droves for pristine rural life don't see it that way. In fact their snozes accustomed to the lovely aromas of automobile exhaust turn up in apparent disgust with whiffs of cattle hogs and horses. Now farmers are trying dearly to accommodate their burgeoning new neighbors by implementing novel methods of handling manure, many which cost them dearly. Perdue University scientists could come to their rescue as researchers are developing new feed that produces manure with less levels of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, (the stinky stuff ), by using a feed mix developed from genetically modified corn. So it remains to be seen if the environmentalists that have been pushing for clean farm air forgo opposition to genetic modification, over a sweeter smell. I'm Susan Allen and this is Food Forethought Source: Perdue ansc.purdue.edu