South Tyrol Launches Online Manure Exchange to Link Livestock and Crop Farmers

A new online exchange for organic farm manure has launched in South Tyrol, aiming to connect livestock farms with fruit and wine producers who need natural fertilizers. The initiative, called the Wirtschaftsdüngerbörse, is part of the “INNONährstoffe” project led by the South Tyrolean Farmers’ Association (Südtiroler Bauernbund) in collaboration with local agricultural organizations and research institutions.

South Tyrol’s fruit and wine sectors rely heavily on organic fertilizers from livestock farming. However, many producers have struggled to find out where surplus manure is available or where it is needed. The new platform seeks to close this information gap and promote sustainable nutrient cycles within the region.

The exchange is accessible through the “mein SBB” online members’ area of the South Tyrolean Farmers’ Association. Members can offer or request manure, slurry, liquid manure, or compost. All listings are centralized, making it easier for farmers to match supply and demand. When a transaction is agreed upon, the platform automatically generates a protocol to document the exchange.

Daniel Gasser, president of the Farmers’ Association, said that using organic material for fertilization in orchards brings many benefits. Livestock manure contains valuable nutrients and helps build soil humus. He noted that while livestock farms are mainly located in side valleys and higher elevations such as Pustertal, fruit and wine production is concentrated from Vinschgau to Salurn and in Eisacktal. This geographical separation has made logistics a challenge.

Matthias Bertagnolli, head of the Innovation & Energy Department at the association, explained that many farms do not know where organic fertilizer is available or needed, nor in what quantities. The new exchange aims to provide a transparent and straightforward solution for members.

Project results also revealed that there is less surplus manure in livestock farming than previously thought. In fact, some grassland farms are under-supplied and need additional organic fertilizer to maintain their meadows. This suggests that livestock farms are already managing their nutrient cycles responsibly.

The idea of a manure exchange is not new; similar platforms exist in Austria and Switzerland. During the INNONährstoffe project, researchers surveyed South Tyrolean farmers about their interest in such a system. About 50% expressed general interest in using an exchange, while another 14% were interested but had specific requirements such as transparency about fertilizer quality (including organic certification), simple procedures, and fair prices.

These requirements were incorporated into the design of the South Tyrolean platform to ensure practical use. The system also tracks past activities and presents them graphically for users to monitor their exchanges.

The INNONährstoffe project ran from 2022 to 2025 with funding from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (ELER). It involved several partners including BRING (the advisory service for mountain agriculture), the advisory service for fruit and wine growing, Laimburg Research Center, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, and four local farms.

The project’s goal was to analyze fertilizer cycles between grassland farming and fruit/wine production and identify ways to optimize them. Researchers examined both individual farm solutions like the new exchange as well as regional flows of materials. They also studied biogas plants as potential transfer points for manure and conducted soil samples and fertilizer analyses.

With this new platform now active, South Tyrol’s agricultural sector hopes to make better use of available resources while supporting sustainable farming practices across different types of production.