WATKINSVILLE, Ga. — A stench in a number of northeast Georgia neighborhoods is getting some attention at a state agency charged with regulating agricultural products.
The source is a cheap fertilizer substitute. Its smell is considerable.
State officials have gotten their own whiff of this fertilizer controversy and say they are taking steps to rein it in.
The smell was an unhappy surprise outside of Oconee County High School this week as classes started.
"I thought it was pretty unpleasant. Most students don’t want to smell that when they’re in school," said Gary Dingwell, a 17-year-old student.
The source was across the road – in a hay field where large tanker trucks had filed in and out – to spread a fragrant product used as a low-cost substitute for fertilizer.
Its detractors call it "chicken sludge." It comes from chicken and other processing plants.
"It would be left over from that," said Hunter Hargrave, who is enthusiastic about its uses.
He says it costs almost nothing to apply. It has nearly tripled the yield of one of his hay fields. And he says, using it as fertilizer is better than dumping it.
"This is about as green as you can go as far as, the animals are raised on the land, and they’re processed and then they’re put back into the land," Hargrave said.
Leslie Morrow is less enthusiastic.
"When it did blow in this direction, we physically could not stay outside. It was not possible," said Morrow, a lifelong Oconee County resident who raises horses near a neighboring field recently treated with what she calls chicken sludge.
She said she backs the intention - but not the product.
"I grew up here. I’m all about fertilization. But this is unlike anything that I’ve ever smelled or even seen before," said Morrow, who added that she complained about it to the state department of agriculture.
She wants to know what’s in it. Turns out, each batch is different – and each has to be registered with the state agriculture department. Because of complaints, Commissioner Tyler Harper says policing it has been a priority.
"That’s the reason we’re implementing changes because of that balancing act of allowing our industry to succeed while addressing the concerns of the citizens," said Harper, a Republican who took office in January.
The state doesn’t call it chicken sludge. It calls the fertilizer substitute “soil amendment.” Harper says it’s hiring additional investigators to check complaints like those in Oconee County.