Most spent litter produced in Australia is sold as a fertiliser to broadacre, horticulture, dairy farms or composters (Dorahy & Dorahy, 2008). The supply and price of bedding materials has increased substantially in recent years and future supply of wood products may be constrained, or only available at a higher price. There is a close relationship between the industry’s capacity to pay for bedding materials and the market for buying spent litter. Ideally, sales would match or exceed costs, and maintaining the markets for spent litter must be considered when changing litter management or investigating alternative bedding materials (Watson & Wiedemann, 2018). Spent litter utilisation contains detailed information on spent litter utilisation and management.

Consider the markets for spent litter when changing litter management or investigating alternative bedding materials.