“One of the big issues we're facing in the swine industry is some of the nuisance lawsuits for odor as agriculture reaches out closer to the city,” said Dr. Davis. “At Arm & Hammer, we've been thinking about that. If you think about the odor concept from swine manure, it’s really based on microbiology, so we’re focusing on the microbiology in the swine manure pit system and how to manage that microbial ecology."

Arm & Hammer has developed a product called Certillus Eco. It's a bacillus-based live microorganism feed-through product. As soon as it’s fed to the pigs, they essentially inoculate the swine manure system for the producer. The product helps to manage the entire microbial fermentation progress that's happening in the swine manure pit. This is important for odors because they are caused by compounds called volatile fatty acids, and the microorganisms within the swine manure can utilize those compounds as a food source. They then ferment the nutrients that are excreted into the swine manure pit and utilize those volatile fatty acids.

“If you have an imbalance in your microbial ecology in the swine manure pit, that microbial imbalance results in volatile fatty acids that aren't utilized by the bacteria, but instead get volatilized off,” said Ellen Davis. “This product helps manage that whole microbial fermentation to manage odor in swine manure. With Certillus Eco, we can have the pigs continuously inoculate your manure pits. You will have live microorganisms to help manage the microbial ecology continuously, even when you're doing things that aren't optimizing that microbial fermentation.”

Arm & Hammer's new product is available in the US, and they are looking to expand their reach, but for now those interested should talk to their nutritionist.