Posted: April 20, 2010 at 6:13 pm
By News Editor
A new facility that will compost manure from local farms, food waste from local schools and restaurants, and leaves and yard waste is being built in Lancaster County, Pa. Called Oregon Dairy Organics, the one-of-a-kind facility had its official ground breaking this week, and is set to be selling finished compost by this fall.
Most manure composting takes manure from the host farm only and is managed by the host farmer, which usually results in low quality final compost, with higher emissions of ammonia, and compost that is only suitable for on farm use. While many townships operate larger regional composting facilities for greenwaste, few of them accept manure because of the odor and transporting manure can be expensive beyond about 10-15 miles. These municipal facilities must add commercial nitrogen to make the composting work because greenwaste contains very little nitrogen, which is a required ingredient to make compost.
“The Oregon Dairy Organics composting facility will play an important role in helping Pennsylvania meet the co-equal goals of clean water and viable farms,” said Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell C. Redding. “Knowing the important role Pennsylvania plays in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, we must find innovative ways to protect our natural resources and increase the profitability of our farms. The Oregon Dairy Organics team has created a model that will benefit the community, the farms and our waterways.”
“By working together and embracing a new approach to an old technology — composting — Oregon Dairy Organics has been able to develop a program that will benefit farmers, the community and water quality,” said Suzy Friedman, the project’s manager and deputy director of the Center for Conservation Incentives at Environmental Defense Fund. “Oregon Dairy Organics is an example of farmers stepping forward to improve water quality in local creeks, the Conestoga River, and all the way to the Chesapeake Bay.”
Oregon Dairy Organics brings together an innovative partnership to demonstrate how composting can play a bigger role in improving water quality in southeastern Pennsylvania and other areas of the Chesapeake Bay by giving farmers expanded options for nutrient management. The project combines the efficiencies and professional management of composting multiple waste streams at one site, with the need to avoid the size, traffic, and hauling expenses of a large-scale regional composting facility.
“This project is another example of the positive steps farmers can and are taking to clean up both Lancaster County streams and the Chesapeake Bay in an economically sustainable way,” said George Hurst, owner of Oregon Dairy in Lititz, Pennsylvania five miles north of Lancaster. “As a result of this project, manure, yard waste, and food waste will become an asset to agriculture and the Chesapeake Bay region.”
Oregon Dairy Organics has the diversity of partners and stakeholders needed to make it work: Oregon Dairy and the Hurst Family to provide a farm site for the project; a professional composting company, Terra-Gro, will help manage the facility and market the finished compost; a local agricultural consulting company, TeamAg Inc., to coordinate farmer participation in the project; and a nonprofit conservation organization, Environmental Defense Fund, to coordinate the overall project and secure needed funding.
Source: PR News Wire
Posted: December 15, 2009 at 10:45 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
Dairy was in the spotlight today in Copenhagen at the Climate Change Summit when U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced an agreement with U.S. dairy producers to accelerate adoption of innovative manure to energy projects on American dairy farms.
“This historic agreement, the first of its kind, will help us achieve the ambitious goal of drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions while benefiting dairy farmers,” Vilsack said from Copenhagen. “Use of manure to electricity technology is a win for everyone because it provides an untapped source of income for famers, provides a source of renewable electricity, reduces our dependence on foreign fossil fuels, and provides a wealth of additional environmental benefits.”
The agreement was made between USDA and Dairy Management Inc.’s Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy with the goal of reaching a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2020.
DMI CEO Tom Gallagher says memorandum came about because of the commitment of U.S. dairy farmers and the dairy industry to a sustainable future that includes both environmental and economic viability. “Sustainability goes hand in hand with our heritage of taking care of the land and natural resources while producing nutritious products that consumers want,” said Gallagher.
Under the agreement, USDA intends to increase the number of anaerobic digesters supported by USDA programs. Beyond promoting the digesters, the agreement will encourage research, and development of new technologies to help dairies reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Anaerobic digester technology is a proven method of converting waste products, such as manure, into electricity. The technology utilizes generators that are fueled by methane captured from the animal manure. Currently, only about 2 percent of U.S. dairies that are candidates for a profitable digester are utilizing the technology. Dairy operations with anaerobic digesters routinely generate enough electricity to power 200 homes.
Posted: October 14, 2009 at 3:34 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
Dairy producers in the western half of the United States can get free, confidential help to develop and implement plans to limit their environmental impact through a program called Comprehensive Livestock Environmental Assessments and Nutrient management plans, or CLEANmp.
The program, which is managed by the Missouri-based Environmental Resources Coalition, is designed to provide services to all types and sizes of livestock and poultry production operations west of the Mississippi River. Technical assistance for the project is confidential and free to all producers. ERC is a non-profit group dedicated to water quality protection and improvement efforts and the program uses federal grant dollars from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Find out more here.
Posted: May 28, 2009 at 10:15 am
By Amanda Nolz
Ann Perry at the USDA summarizes a study done by the USDA Agricultural Research Service the pros and cons of solid and liquid dairy manure as fertilizer. Here is a brief excerpt from that study…
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have found that solid dairy manure is better than commercial fertilizer in mitigating the amount of phosphorus that can accumulate in water percolating through the soil. But using liquid dairy manure can make it worse.
These findings could help farmers in the semiarid western United States protect local watersheds from agricultural pollutants. Idaho is now the second-largest milk producer in the western United States, and farmers there are using substantial amounts of dairy manure for fertilizing irrigated crop fields. Phosphorus can fuel the excessive growth of algae and other plant matter in freshwater ecosystems.
To read the entire summary, link to USDA ARS.
Posted: March 30, 2009 at 6:22 pm
By Amanda Nolz
My neighbors up at Morris, Minn. are up to good things with their 12,000 dairy cow operation. They will soon be creating renewable energy for electric generation for Great River Energy. Two local dairy operations have installed anaerobic digesters in their facilities to help control methane emissions. Could this be the new wave for livestock producers? It keeps popping up in the news, and I think that soon, the sweet smell of success will be manure! I can picture it now… Here is an excerpt from the press release. You can read the full text at “Moo-ving and Shaking: Smart Dairy Farmers and Electric Co-Ops Make Hay with Manure.”
Great River Energy, Maple Grove, Minn., is the wholesale power supplier to 28 member distribution cooperatives across Minnesota. The distribution cooperative serving the Morris region, is Agralite Electric Cooperative. Riverview is the managing partner of West River Dairy and Riverview Dairy of MN. When the dairies decided to install anaerobic digesters, largely to convert dairy wastes into more valuable and manageable byproducts, a win-win situation emerged.
These anaerobic digesters are large, cement tanks outside the barn, mostly underground, which capture the cows’ waste. This step greatly reduces odor from the dairy operation. When manure breaks down, it creates a bio-gas, which is primarily methane. The methane rises to the top of the tank and is captured. Methane is a greenhouse gas which, when released into the atmosphere, is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Once captured, the methane is typically destroyed through “flaring,” during which it is burned through a flame that flares out the end of a pipe. The business earns carbon offsets or carbon reduction credits based on the amount of methane destroyed in the process, which is measured by a third party.
Posted: September 15, 2008 at 3:40 pm
By News Editor
TyraTech Inc., the pioneer of safer, effective natural pesticide products and automated manure management systems, announces that the Rancho Teresita Dairy has signed an agreement to purchase and install the TyraTech WasteSolver™. This will be one of the first systems to be installed in California.
With ever-tightening environmental regulations, it is increasingly difficult for dairy producers to manage their cows’ manure. This new system is designed to provide an automated solution that efficiently and cost-effectively turns manure into ready to use bedding and organic horticulture ready growing media, which generates incremental profit opportunities for dairies.
The patent-pending WasteSolver is an automated manure management system that efficiently reduces environmental problems and lagoon maintenance by capturing 50% to 70% of suspended manure solids, and then naturally treating the solids in 24 hours through a method similar to pasteurization. The continuous and rapid process is designed to reduce the production of methane by avoiding composting and by aerating liquids that are returned to the lagoon.
Cornell Kasbergen, owner of Rancho Teresita Dairy, commented: “The automated WasteSolver system appealed to me on several levels. First, it replaces the need to devote labor and land to drying manure for bedding. Also, the income streams for bedding sales and potentially greenhouse credits provides incremental profit for our dairy. Lastly, I believe this system is environmentally efficient, which should help us effectively manage an increasingly cumbersome regulatory environment.”
Posted: June 13, 2007 at 5:14 pm
By News Editor
Pro-Act Microbial now has an eight-minute video posted on their website to help dairy producers understand their product and learn more about the benefits of using it on their farms.
The video provides a virtual tour showing how Pro-Act’s system stratifies nutrients, reduces solids and odors, prevents slippery barn floors, provides cleaner flush water, excellent fertilizer and more.
“It’s wonderful for us,” explains Tom Wagner of Wagner Dairy during an interview shown in the video. “The alleys aren’t slippery anymore. Odor is down. Because the nutrients are stratified I can apply top water to fields that already are high in nutrients. Even at the very bottom of the lagoon, I still end up with manure that’s 98% liquid.”
Posted: April 3, 2007 at 7:53 pm
By News Editor
A new website is can help you manage nitrogen on your dairy operation. The site is free and interactive and covers management of crops and soils, feed storage, nutrition and manure use.
The N Management on Dairy Farms web site has been developed by researchers and extension educators at Cornell University (Department of Crop and Soil Sciences and Department of Animal Science), the Animal Manure and By-Products Laboratory of the USDA Agricultural Research Service (Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Maryland), and the University of Vermont (Department of Plant and Soil Science). Funding for the project was provided by the Fund for Rural America.
Posted: March 20, 2007 at 7:11 pm
By News Editor
Pro-Act Microbial Inc. has announced a portable floating pump called the Scavenger. The portable pump will allow producers to remove bottom water between multiple lagoons. Sounds like a great addition to manure management to me!
The Scavenger is a portable floating pump that gives farms the flexibility of removing bottom water from their lagoons without disturbing the stratification of nutrients. The Scavenger is designed to work with Pro-Act Microbial’s manure treatment system to remove nutrient-rich bottom water. It is a retractable bottom pump with multi-stage capability and a flexible hose, allowing it to remove bottom water at any level with ease and without costly and time-consuming agitation. In addition, the pump is engineered for portability, allowing the user to move the pump between lagoons as needed. In addition to working in conjunction with the Pro-Act manure treatment system, the Scavenger can also be effective for dairies with a healthy lagoon and fairly loose solids.
Posted: February 12, 2007 at 6:14 pm
By News Editor
Here’s more news out of California – a new ethanol plant in the San Joaquin Valley that will utilize dairy manure.
Human BioSystems (“HBS”) announced today that HBS BioEnergy (“HBSE”), has formed a joint venture with Visalia based Dairy Development Group and Agrimass Enviro-Energy to build a park in the San Joaquin Valley of California, which will utilize waste from surrounding dairies to provide the power needed to fuel the proposed ethanol plant to be located on site.
“The joint venture involves developing and operating an innovative agricultural waste-to-energy park,” explained Len Chapman, CEO of Agrimass Enviro-Energy and Dairy Development Group. “This is the perfect model for agricultural production because it takes a problem – manure – and turns it into power, which then powers the ethanol plant that produces cleaner-burning fuels. This is the kind of green industry we need in the Valley.”
Agrimass Enviro-Energy blends technology, engineering and dairy expertise to help Valley dairymen implement systems that help them meet increasingly stringent environmental regulations. Dairy Development Group assists dairymen in planning, permitting, building and operating their dairies, with a focus on environmental mitigation and compliance.
Posted: October 30, 2006 at 6:15 pm
By Chuck
Making a peat moss substitute from manure looks like it might be a new alternative for dairies looking at environmentally friendly ways to manage the waste. Organix has announced the completion of its peat moss replacement pilot in Rupert, Idaho.
The pilot used the Company’s patented FibeRite™ process which takes dairy solids (fiber) from an anaerobic digester and converts it into a high value, peat moss substitute designed for the horticulture industry. The test took place at the Whitesides Dairy biogas plant in Rupert, built and operated by Intrepid Technology and Resources. A full-scale production facility is expected to be operating by early 2007.
“This concept has been five years in the making and we feel that we have created a system that a dairyman can appreciate, regulators can approve and an end-user can depend on,” explains Russ Davis, President of Organix. “With the current interest in renewable energy projects, biogas capture remains one of the best ways for a dairy to participate in the market while increasing manure management capabilities. The FibeRite™ system enhances a digester project by creating a high-value product out of the solids while simultaneously addressing many of the environmental concerns associated with dairies.” (more…)
Posted: September 26, 2006 at 9:11 pm
By Chuck
Manure may not be the most popular dinner table conversation, but it will be the subject of a roundtable discussion at this year’s World Dairy Expo.
Pro-Act Microbial is actually sponsoring a series of Manure Management Roundtables during the Expo, giving dairy farmers an opportunity to share experiences and to learn what is working for others.
On Wednesday, October 4th and Thursday, October 5th, the public is invited to these roundtables, both held at 10:30 a.m. in the Exhibition Hall, second floor, Waubesa room.
The panel will be moderated by Dale Butcher, sales manager for Pro-Act Microbial. Other panel members include Tom Wagner of Wagner Dairy in Middleton, Wisconsin, Dan Monson of Springrove Dairy in Brodhead, Wisconsin, and Dr. Chuzhao Lin and Bill Campion of Pro-Act Microbial.
Posted: September 13, 2006 at 5:14 pm
By Chuck
Intrepid Technology and Resources, Inc., an Idaho-based renewable alternate energy company, is turning dairy cow manure into natural gas. (see previous post)
Thanks to a partnership with Utah State University, ITR is the first company to produce pipeline-quality methane from cow manure. ITR is expanding its operations, and will now produce natural gas from 100 percent of the manure from 6,500 cows. Previously, the company was only utilizing about 30 percent of their clients’ waste. All of the gas will be put into a pipeline and sold to Intermountain Gas Company, according to ITR Vice President Brad Frazee.
The expansion will include an additional eight digester tanks and will produce enough gas to provide gas energy to 5,000 homes and any dairy with 2,000 or more cows could produce enough gas to make such a project viable.
Read the entire story here.
Posted: June 21, 2006 at 4:23 pm
By Chuck
An ethanol facility powered by renewable energy from dairy waste is planned for a large Indiana dairy farm. Bion Environmental Technologies and Fair Oaks Dairy Farms have announced a joint venture that will enable environmentally sustainable expansion of animal agriculture in concert with ethanol production.
According to the news release, Bion’s technology platform provides sufficient renewable energy from the associated animal waste stream to produce ethanol absent any outside fuel source such as natural gas or coal, while it directly addresses the growing long-term risk to distiller grains revenues as those markets become increasingly saturated by the continued expansion of U.S. ethanol production.
That’s a pretty technical way of saying they intend to use cow manure to generate the power required for ethanol production. Bion’s research indicates they can create sufficient renewable energy to support one million gallons of ethanol for every 1,000 dairy cows The joint venture will start with a research center to determine the economic and environmental sustainability of utilizing sand bedding in conjunction with Bion’s technology platform. Based upon that evaluation, Stage Two will include a Bion treatment system for Fair Oaks’ dairy herd and potentially other local dairy herds, along with an ethanol plant of a size to be determined by the number of participating dairy animals.
Fair Oaks is “the largest dairy east of the Mississippi River and an industry leader in efforts to find a solution to dairy environmental issues,” according to the release.
Posted: June 15, 2006 at 9:49 pm
By Chuck
Intrepid Technology and Resources, Inc., an Idaho-based renewable alternate energy company, has received a $50,000 grant from the Idaho Department of Water Resources to install anaerobic digestion technology to produce useable energy from dairy biogas. According to a company release, the grant will be used to purchase energy measurement equipment at the Whitesides Dairy biogas plant. The equipment will monitor the heating values of the gas, determine its energy content, contaminate levels and flow rates either onsite or offsite locations and will assist in the expansion and remote operation of the Whitesides biogas plant.
A new facility that will compost manure from local farms, food waste from local schools and restaurants, and leaves and yard waste is being built in Lancaster County, Pa. Called Oregon Dairy Organics, the one-of-a-kind facility had its official ground breaking this week, and is set to be selling finished compost by this fall.