OFF THE TICKER : Where There’s a Will, There’s Whey

Soil scientists have discovered a new “whey” to stop soil erosion.

“We found that pumping cottage cheese whey onto sloped, furrow-irrigated fields can cut soil erosion losses between 65% and 75%,” said Melvin J. Brown of the Department of Agriculture’s research service in Kimberly, Idaho.

Whey, a leftover from cheese production, is a slightly milky, watery product containing sugar, protein, calcium, magnesium, potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus.

Cheese factories now pay to dispose of excess whey through local sewage treatment plants. About half the 2 million tons of acidic whey produced annually in the United States goes to waste.

Brown’s cohort at the research service, Charles R. Robbins, came up with the idea of using whey to restore the productivity of high-sodium soils, where water tends to run off the surface, depriving plants of moisture.

Whey’s calcium, magnesium and potassium “actually replace the harmful sodium,” Robbins said. Thus water soaks in more easily and thirsty plants can drink, he said.

Whey’s nitrogen and phosphorus also help nourish growing plants, he added.