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When the Whittle family in Volga, Iowa, began contemplating a switch to sand bedding, they knew their manure-handling system would also need an overhaul to make it an optimal change. The end result incorporated sand settling lanes and weep cells, something they had never seen done before.
Manure spills are typically caused by the mechanical failure of equipment or strictly an accident, much more so than mere negligence, according to recently released information from U.S. extension agents. They can also be due to improper application or poor management of storage facilities. With proper planning and prevention, such a spill can be dealt with quickly before the 5 o’clock news is at your door.
Darin Mann, of M&M Feedlot in Idaho, discusses his operation.
Manure from livestock operations can have a negative perception by the general public – it can smell, attract flies and, if not handled properly, can cause environmental concerns. But one family in Idaho is working hard to change that perception through environmental stewardship and an innovative approach to manure management, and by all accounts they are succeeding.
Feed analysis doesn’t stop at the bunk. A lot can be discovered at the other end of the digestive tract.
“Fresh, undisturbed piles of feces or droppings may provide valuable clues and should be part of your tool box when evaluating the nutritional status of the dairy herd,” said Mike Hutjens, dairy specialist at the University of Illinois. He outlined three different methods to use at the Four-State Dairy Nutrition Conference in Dubuque, Iowa, earlier this summer.
Dana Cook, owner of Cook’s Countryside Trucking LLC in North Freedom, Wisconsin, and president of the Professional Nutrient Applicators Association of Wisconsin (PNAAW), knows the importance of sharing the road with all types of vehicles. His manure application business covers most of Wisconsin, northern Illinois, northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota, passing over thousands of miles of highway each year.
The business hauls for 210 farmers annually and applies manure, or a portion of it, from farms of 40 to 2,000 acres.
Regulations are a commonplace way of managing manure. To keep them from piling up, Dr. Doug Beegle says it’s as simple as a little common sense.
A distinguished professor of agronomy at Penn State University, Beegle provides some things to think about when handling manure, as well as what to do if regulations are afoot in your area.
The EPA’s first comprehensive national system for mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) in the U.S. requires reporting by 25 industrial categories of direct emitting sources – and dairy farms of certain sizes will most likely fall under this regulatory umbrella.
Cargill, a company well known for the inputs it can provide to a dairy, is now turning its focus to outputs. By installing three anaerobic digesters on dairy farms in southern Idaho, Cargill looks to gain insight into renewable energy and grow its trading business.
This article was #21 in PDmag's Top 25 most-well read articles in 2010.
Summary: Three years ago, the Brubaker family in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania installed a methane digester on their dairy and poultry farm. With this new technology, they claim the farm is now more than 20 times better for the environment than it was before.
Because this article was so popular, we asked the Brubakers a follow-up question:
As we hit a time in the growing season where things typically slow down a little, now may be the best time to take a few hours to plan your fall and winter manure applications. Although spring is the best time to apply manure, few of us have the storage capabilities to apply all our manure in the spring. This article is for those who will need to apply manure this fall and possibly this winter.
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