Spreading manure in Foravila: "Everyone is very natural and eco-friendly until they smell shit."

PalmBiel Barceló has a farm with almost 300 pigs and 100 sows on the road from Vilafranca to Porreres. He sows the grain he feeds the animals himself and, to do so, spreads the manure they produce because, he says, "it reactivates the soil and is much better than fertilizer." Although he tries to spread and cover it as quickly as possible "to avoid problems" with the neighbors (he spends about an hour between one thing and another), he is aware of the smell they create. "No matter how good the escampis is, all shit smells," he admits while standing next to a pile of manure he is about to spread.

Complaints about the smell of manure have increased in recent years, as explained this Monday by the Director General of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development, Fernando Fernández. For this reason, Barceló explains that manure "is the most natural" there is for the soil and reproaches that "everyone is very ecological until they smell shit."

For his part, the Regional Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment, Joan Simonet, emphasized that farmers have the right to spread manure on their crops. "It is legally protected by a series of regulations, and as long as they are followed, it must be respected." He also warned the population that "if they want local and sustainable food, manure is an essential part of their diet." Similarly, he considered that "citizens are increasingly disconnected from the reality of the Foravila region."

Similarly, Fernández explained that both farmers and ranchers have a plan to control the quantity and where the manure has been spread. "Behind this right that farmers have to revalue manure, there are quite rigorous regulations that can be controlled," he said. But instead of selling it to other farmers—a trailer can cost around €150—Barceló prefers to keep it, although he admits that "it's expensive," since he has to use a shovel to load it into the trailer, a plow to spread it, and two people to drive the vehicles.