Broiler chickens are grown in barns with poultry litter, typically 4-6 inches of pine bark shavings. Growing chickens live on this litter, adding their manure to the litter bed. A liquid top dressing of alkaline-soluble, oxidized humic acid and non indigenous bacteria between flocks can release ammonia harmlessly to the atmosphere and tie up any unreleased nitrogen and phosphorous as water insoluble nitrogen and water insoluble phosphorous. Farmers typically remove and replace the litter bed after 6-8 flocks. Surprisingly, the combination of neutralized, low conductivity humic acid, non indigenous bacteria and substantially complete mechanical litter bed turnover between flocks allows the virtually indefinite use of said litter.