Cashing in the Chips

Western countries trying to get back some of what they have been paying for oil have become furious exporters of both military hardware and modern technology to the Middle East. Now a small U.S. outfit has uncovered a rich Arab market for a somewhat less strategic item: cow manure. RJB Sales Export Inc. of Sequim, Wash., has contracted with the Persian Gulf sheikdoms of Dubai and Bahrain to provide at least 50,000 metric tons of liquefied cow manure each month for three years. Total sales could reach $1.2 billion.

Farmers in 40 states are involved in the operation. Manure from dairy-barn floors is collected in underground tanks. The mixture is then treated with a chemical concocted by RJB Founder Richard J. Briggs that is the key to the whole enterprise: it permits the material to be shipped without the buildup of dangerous methane gas. Barges and trucks bearing the finished product will soon be on their way to the port of Lake Charles, La., and in late January the first shipload will depart for Dubai. On arrival, the manure will be piped inland and sprayed together with grain seed upon barren ground. For six years the grain will be plowed under to build soil that should eventually bear food crops.

Dairymen hit by soaring feed costs are delighted; they will get 5-c- a gallon for their manure. Says Farmer Virgil Baker of Orting, Wash.: "This will save our lives. We've been operating $2,000 a month in the red--but now we could make up to $4,000 a month on manure. It seems like a fairy tale."

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