The Molly Caren Agricultural Center near London, Ohio, will welcome more than 100,000 visitors in less than a month for its annual Farm Science Review, but earlier in August, the 80-acre exhibit area was home to a smaller, yet just as dedicated, agricultural event.

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Karen Lee
Managing Editor / Progressive Dairy

The North American Manure Expo, a two-day traveling show, set up in Ohio on Aug. 3-4 for its 16th year. The show has grown since its early days of hosting side-by-side equipment demonstrations for custom manure applicators to now welcoming more than 1,000 individuals from 25 states and five countries.

Manure drying system

The event continues to be a draw for custom applicators, livestock producers and equipment dealers but also welcomes a large number of researchers, consultants and government agencies.

Manure lagoon agitation demonstrations were held

Equipment demonstrations continue to pull crowds out to the fields. This year, they included manure pit agitation, compost turning, calibrating solid spreaders, solid manure spreading, smoking subsurface tile drainage and applying liquid manure via surface, injection and side-dressing.

a compost turner churns through a row of compost

Dairy, beef and composting tours took people around central Ohio to see manure and nutrient handling in farm and commercial settings. The dairy tour featured the Ohio Heifer Center, which houses 4,500 youngstock and processes the farm’s dry manure through a dryer and gasifier to create a bedding material and biochar. It also stopped at Trupointe/Sunrise Cooperative for a presentation on soil sampling and precision fertilizer application.

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A smoking demonstration reveals the number of access points for liquid to enter a tile drainage system

Participants could view a large amount of equipment on display from tankers to boats and everything in between as they walked to educational sessions held in various buildings across the grounds.

Mark your calendar as next year the North American Manure Expo returns to Wisconsin on Aug. 22-23, 2017.  PD

PHOTO 1: Attendees watch as a new draghose system is used for side-dressing liquid manure on a growing corn crop.

PHOTO 2: Those who attended the dairy tour stopped at the Ohio Heifer Center to see the farm’s manure drying system, which includes a gasifier to generate heat for the dryer.

PHOTO 3: Manure lagoon agitation demonstrations were held at nearby Newport Dairy.

PHOTO 4: A compost turner churns through a row of compost.

PHOTO 5: A smoking demonstration reveals the number of access points for liquid to enter a tile drainage system. Photos by Karen Lee.

Karen Lee