Dairy Slurry Management

Final Report for FNE99-284

Project Type: Farmer
Funds awarded in 1999: $3,637.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2002
Matching Non-Federal Funds: $6,540.00
Region: Northeast
State: New York
Project Leader:
Anna Dawson
Hometown Foods, LLC
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Project Information

Summary:

Note to readers, attached is the complete final report for FNE99-284

The farmers in this project wanted to develop a composting system for high moisture dairy manure slurry with waste from off the farm such as ground up tree trimmings, leaves, and horse bedding. The goal was to reduce manure transportation and odor problems and to develop a marketable product from animal wastes.

Cooperators

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  • Bob Walker

Research

Materials and methods:

They fabricated a device on the back of a windrow turner that would leave a valley on the top of the windrow. They delivered the manure slurry onto this windrow by means of a specially constructed truck body that would drive along the side of the windrow as the slurry was pumped through a shoot extending from the side of the truck. Mixing these materials created a very wet pile.

Research results and discussion:

The addition of water from rainfall and snowmelt made the compost excessively wet. In the future, compost will be made with controlled levels of carbon materials, and will be covered to prevent excessive moisture. The farmers will be expanding the project during 2000 to incorporate horse manure and to explore the use of paperboard as a bedding and compost ingredient.

Participation Summary
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.