Economics of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) in dairy waste management.

The black soldier fly (BSF) has been recognized as an effective means to deal with access manure accumulation at Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). Using BSF larvae to digest dairy manure can generate $100 to $279 income per cow every year through (1) sales of harvested prepupae, which can be used as feed ingredient ($90--$230) and (2) cost savings in reduced manure bulk handling ($10--$49). Thus, a facility with low operating cost to maintain warm temperature throughout the year and a market for harvested larvae could prove BSF an economically viable option for dairy CAFOs to manage their wastes. Estimated models on larval yield as well as manure bulk reduction suggest that outcomes can be improved by 17.45% in larval yield and 146.75% in manure bulk reduction with a simple change in manure-feeding rate.