The Ponderosa Dairies in the Armagosa Valley, 85 miles northwest of Las Vegas, has reconstituted the manure produced by its more than 8,500 cows into a compost sold at Star Nurseries.

“It is extremely high quality,” said Bob Morris, a professor at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. “Probably one of the highest quality composted products I’ve ever run across.”

Two years ago, entrepreneur Doug Watts approached the dairy about a partnership in turning the liability into an asset. The manure was tested, and Morris says he got back nothing but “glowing” reports.

Watts lists the Clark County School District, the City of Henderson and landscape contractors among his primary customers. He may soon be receiving waste from the new equestrian center at the South Coast Hotel & Casino.

Studying the model of the dairy waste project, Paul Eden, president of Seafood Biz Nevada, contacted Morris more than a year ago from Australia looking for a possibly profitable outlet for his company’s fish waste.

Unlike the dairy’s compost material that is applied to the ground and watered in, the fish waste is used as a liquid-applied foliage fertilizer complementary to the compost dairy manure. Sprayed on leaves, it is quickly absorbed by the plants.