Progress report for FNE24-086
Project Information
Farms of all scales struggle with livestock housing that meets the big goals of regenerative/sustainable agriculture:
- Safety and Comfort for the Animals,
- Providing a Positive Impact on the Environment,
- Safe and Easy to Use for the Farmer, and
- Scalability.
The Inoculated Deep Litter System (IDLS) is an innovative system that checks all four boxes. IDLS is a bedding and housing solution which, once constructed, never requires the removal of bedding/waste while providing a comfortable and safe space for livestock. It achieves this by using a multi-layered system with a foundation of inoculated biochar, followed by logs, sawdust and a layer of loose bedding which is added to as needed.
While IDLS is used widely throughout the tropics, little to no research has been done in cold-climate agriculture. Working with engineers from Hawaii andnNew England, we are adapting the system to our climate where we’ll test the design with small ruminants (goats and sheep).
We believe that this technology can substantially improve animal welfare and reduce farmer labor while also acting as a carbon sink, eliminating supplementary heating needs, and significantly reducing ammonia production.
This will be a three year project so that we can evaluate the long-term impact on the animals, farmers, and environment. We’ll write a paper with our findings along with Plans for Constructing Cold Climate IDLS Housing and provide video content throughout the project.
We plan to develop and test a cold-weather Inoculated Deep Litter System for small ruminants which can be deployed at farm-scale.
We also hope to demonstrate that the claims of IDLS (i.e. no bedding removal, little-to-no aroma, animal health benefits, reduced ammonia production, and complete containment/composting of waste) hold true for cold climates.
Through rigorous bookkeeping, we will also present our findings on the cost-effectiveness of this system at small-scale so fellow farmers and researchers can make an educated decision on deployment.
Farms of all scales struggle with livestock housing that meets the big goals of regenerative/sustainable agriculture:
- Safety and Comfort for the Animals,
- Providing a Positive Impact on the Environment and local Community,
- Safe and Easy to Use for the Farmer, and
- Scalability.
Safe and environmentally friendly bedding disposal is a challenge for many farmers in addition to being a frustrating and labor-intensive process.
The Inoculated Deep Litter System (IDLS) is a bedding and housing solution which, once constructed, never requires the removal of bedding/waste while providing a comfortable and safe space for livestock. It achieves this by using a multi-layered system with a foundation of inoculated biochar, followed by logs, sawdust and a layer of loose bedding which is added to as needed. (SARE FW 19-339)
The inoculation comes from the “Natural Farming” system (aka KNF) which is made using indigenous microorganisms (IMOs). (SARE FNE22-001). There has been increasing interest in the use of IMOs as a locally-produced alternative to purchased inoculants and other systems of fertility (SARE FNC22-1347). Not only does Natural Farming reduce reliance on external inputs, it also supports the use of “waste” materials (eggshells, potato peels, leaf mold, etc.) on the farm, helping them bring value to the community.
On the theme of locally sourced components, other than the shelter itself which most farmers buy in, all of the components of the IDLS can be sourced/produced on-farm or locally: Biochar, IMO 4, Logs, Sawdust, and Dried Green Waste. (SARE FW19-339)
While IDLS is used widely throughout the tropics, little to no research has been done in cold-climate agriculture. (CTAHR, LM-23) Working with engineers from Hawaii and New England, we are adapting the system to our climate where we’ll test the design with goats and sheep by constructing an IDLS structure appropriate to the needs of small ruminants.
The structure will be built on a small-scale (16-30 animals). While these results won’t necessarily translate to large-scale operations, we believe that this housing capacity covers a large number of sustainable, mixed-agriculture farms, and we hope that the study will provide useful information for mid- and large-scale livestock operations.
Once constructed, the only labor is the periodic addition of a layer of dried green waste. This not only improves efficiency and quality of life on the farm, but also improves profitability (since there are no tipping fees for waste removal and there's a reduction in the amount labor needed to manage waste). From an environmental, animal, and farmer health perspective, all of the waste is treated organically in situ with significantly reduced ammonia production, and farmers no longer need to expose themselves to dust and other contaminants while removing bedding (CTAHR, SA-17) (Zhou 2015).
In addition to animal and farmer welfare improvements as well as the immediate environmental protections afforded by this onsite composting, this project allows us to utilize lower-quality biochar which may not have other uses in industry or agriculture, creating a long-term carbon sink. While the heat naturally generated by this system is an inconvenience in a tropical setting, cold-climate operations may substantially benefit from this natural heat source throughout much of the year.
This will be a three year project so that we can evaluate the long-term impact on the animals, farmers, and environment. This time period is needed to test the claim that no bedding removal is required. We will also monitor runoff for contamination and ambient ammonia levels in the structure. We’ll write a paper with our findings along with Plans for Constructing Cold Climate IDLS Housing, provide video content throughout the project, and host monthly BioChar and BBQ events.
We are a small farm in Northern Vermont focused on regenerative grazing with small ruminants and waterfowl.
Cooperators
- - Technical Advisor
- - Producer
- (Researcher)
- - Technical Advisor
- - Technical Advisor
- - Technical Advisor
Research
We will construct an Inoculated Deep Litter System (diagrams uploaded below) to house sheep and goats.
The housing for the goats and sheep will be a three-and-a-half sided structure with the ability to secure the opening in the fourth wall (diagram attached below). The animals used for this project are all breeds well adapted to the New England climate.
Not only will the cost of the construction be documented, but the time associated with each step. This includes the deployment of on-farm biochar production for the base layer of each structure with a time/cost comparison for purchased biochar. Since one of the goals of the project is to upcycle on-farm waste and to keep the components of IDLS as local as possible, the project will utilize biochar produced on-farm using the cone-pit method; a system which can be constructed for free.
The same time/cost records will be kept for the production of the Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO) and Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) needed to inoculate the bedding.
Since the biochar will not be used as a soil amendment, nor will it come in direct contact with the animals, we will forgo testing of the biochar itself, relying, instead, on a clean feedstock to verify its safety. Feedstock will be recorded.
All of the logs for the base layer will be harvested locally either on-farm or on a neighbor’s farm, and the species will be recorded.
In compliance with EPA guidelines, a 40 mm pond liner will be used between the soil and the animal bedding for the ruminant housing.
The dried green material will be a combination of on-farm waste and locally-sourced wood chips and wood shavings. Any costs associated with these will be documented, although they are often a free byproduct of landscaping and road maintenance in our area.
The main structure of the housing will be built using purchased materials from our local lumberyard, supplemented with repurposed lumber from the farm where appropriate. Costs for the former will be recorded and costs for the latter will be estimated.
Construction will commence in early summer of 2024, and we anticipate the structure being completed within a two-week period. All new animals will arrive after the completion of the housing.
All of the traditional deep litter housing which will be used as a control is pre-existing, so the only costs that will be recorded are the litter itself. Identical litter will be used in control housing and IDLS. Both forms of housing will be stocked at similar stocking density.
The IDLS will be constructed in Swanton, VT with Deep Litter controls in Swanton and Sheldon, VT. Having these two locations will allow a greater level of biosecurity to verify the impact of the housing itself on animal welfare
At times, the herds may need to be combined for an intensive grazing operation, breeding program, or other reasons. When this occurs, it will be documented, and all animals will return to their assigned housing at the completion of the activity. Due to the nature of farming, the total number of animals will obviously fluctuate throughout the experimental period.
For all housing, the following daily records will be kept:
- Outdoor Temperature
- Indoor Temperature
- Ammonia Gas Level
- Airborne Particulate Level
- Relative Humidity
- Number of Animals
- Observed Animal Health (with any diseases/illnesses specifically noted)
- Time spent on activities related to bedding
The first five readings listed above will be taken with a hand-held monitor. Due to travel, offsite work for the herd, and other needs of the farm (and the family), we anticipate being able to take these readings 85%-95% of the days during the study.
Animal health metrics will be analyzed statistically by incidence of disease and mortality. Severity of disease will be noted when appropriate, but will not be subject to statistical analysis due to its relative subjectivity. While a few studies have directly analyzed animal bedding as part of animal pathology research, such an analysis is outside of the scope of this project.
Information such as weight gain, feed utilization, birth weight, etc. will not be recorded for the purposes of this experiment.
We are working with both NRCS and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation to develop water-quality protocols for the project.
Working with the team at UVM, we will apply statistical analysis to this information to verify the statistical significance of our findings. This will be done annually, rather than exclusively at the end of our project period in order to support animal welfare decisions throughout the project.
More on how this information will be shared is in the outreach section below.
2024 Update
We were able to successfully build out the entire IDLS barn with on-farm resources, as we had hoped! The only purchased components were the pond liner (which may not be needed in many circumstances) and the rice, bran, and brown sugar for the IMO. All told, this was less than $350, the majority of which was the pond liner. That said, it took substantially longer than expected. Making two cubic yards of biochar in a pit is no joke, friends. It took months of weekly burns to get there.
The biggest changes to the project were that we were able to retrofit an existing barn rather than needing to build a new one, which was fantastic! Additionally, based on nitrogen volume calculations for small ruminants versus the pigs used in the original study from Hawaii, we reduced the materials by 50%, creating a much more manageable IDLS base. This brought the total height from 3' down to 1.5'
Current results:
Both our control deep litter barn and the IDLS barn have shown no ammonia production. We will continue to take readings until summer of next year, but if we continue to get a reading of 0, we will switch to weekly analysis. The animals will be moved to the new barn fulltime starting the first week of January 2025.
No Lactic Acid Bacteria has been needed to control odors.
Learning Outcomes
The building of the IDLS system was way more time consuming than we expected. Making 2 cubic yards of biochar on farm was a significant undertaking.
That said, once we had all the parts assembled, we were able to complete the IDLS layering (thus completing the new barn floor) in just two eight-hour days with two farmers doing the labor. (Plus assistance from our little helpers.)
We were also pleased to discover that we were able to complete the entire project with on-farm supplies! The only purchased component was the pond-liner (which may or may not be required in other circumstances) and the bran/brown sugar for making the IMO 4.
The following is a list of the free resources we were able to utilize:
- We had an existing barn we could retrofit for the project.
- We had removed five dead ash trees and had a pile of pallets on the farm for producing the biochar.
- The woodchips were delivered free of charge by a local road crew.
- We have abundant leaves and spoiled hay for the top layer of the system.
- We are a 100% electric/hand-to0l farm.
As mentioned above, all of the work was done by hand a was a big undertaking. A significant reduction in labor could be realized with the addition of:
- A Small Tractor
- Purchased Biochar
- Logs that were the proper diameter, rather than needing to be split.
Now enjoy some photos and videos of the project!
Project Outcomes
2024 Update
See two previous sections for current outcomes!