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There’s nothing stinky about a plan to turn manure into cash. It might be a dirty business, but the results can be a boon to dairymen around the globe. A group of scientists led by Aicardo Roa Espinosa, founder of Madison, Wisconsin-based Soil Net LLC, is working on a $9 million research study that uses polymer to separate manure.
Proper management of animal mortalities on livestock operations has important implications in nutrient management, herd and flock health, as well as the health of farm families and public health. For this reason it is imperative to be familiar with best management practices for dealing with dead animals.
Anaerobic digestion to turn waste into energy is a topic that continues to garner growing interest from the agricultural community – and rightfully so. The benefits of biogas systems are many and they span the environmental, societal and economic arenas.
The equipment demonstrations at the North American Manure Expo, Aug. 22, 2012, in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, featured 10 different solid manure spreaders. See each of them in action. Video by PD Editor Karen Lee.
Lagoons and ponds are required storage facilities for large cattle operations. Their purpose is to collect watershed from the livestock areas and hold it until it can be properly dispersed according to nutrient management plans.
California’s Cap-And-Trade Regulation took effect on January 1 this year and marks a significant shift in how carbon credits from dairy digester projects built throughout the U.S. will be generated and sold.
We are now moving from selling dairy digester credits in a voluntary U.S. carbon market where business entities or organizations purchase carbon credits for corporate sustainability initiatives and general goodwill to a compliance market where large qualified emitters in California such as utilities, refiners and cement producers must meet their emissions reduction obligations or face financial penalties.
In an effort to reduce nutrient losses from manure applied to cropland, a number of best management practices have been created. They were crafted using the best available information at the time and, ever since, researchers continue to analyze if they are the best or if they could be better.
Three soil scientists were at the North American Manure Expo in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, recently to share what they’ve learned about nitrification inhibitors, timing of manure application and type of application to better explain their roles in preventing the loss of nitrogen and phosphorus.
The act of storing solid and liquid manure does alter the composition of manure from its raw state and could be consider a form of treatment on the manure.
However, as dairy farms have altered the way they handle manure from simply storing it, soil scientists are looking into how those newer methods are affecting nitrogen and phosphorus in the end product.
Speaking at the North American Manure Expo in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, last month, Chris Baxter, associate professor of soil & crop science, University of Wisconsin – Platteville, explained the three types of manure treatment systems that were considered include liquid/solid separation, anaerobic digestion and composting.
Manure management is one of the many concerns dairy producers deal with across the country, especially when part of the nutrient management plan involves collecting and moving manure off of the dairy premises.
Whether you are a dairy producer or commercial manure applicator, you probably have encountered some type of problem during this process that links back to the manure pump.
Has your pump broken down due to gearbox failures? Ever have a situation where your propeller agitator doesn’t reach far enough into your lagoon or have a lagoon pump that has the reach but cannot cut through thick crust buildup?
Most people understand that anaerobic digesters produce a biogas that can be used to create power (usually in the form of electricity). But few realize that farmers seldom install digesters primarily for this reason – if at all.
More often than not, farmers install a digester to enhance their nutrient management plan, as well as control odors, destroy pathogens, kill weed seeds, etc.
For these farmers the ability to produce power is a secondary benefit. The revenue from power sales simply helps pay for the digester system that gives these other benefits to their farming operation.
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