Manure

Recycling dairy nutrients back to the land needs to be timely to preserve nitrogen and to avoid environmental losses. Manure storages are an integral part of the manure management system on the farm to make sure this is possible.

Public policy and regulation is driven by many factors, and public perception is a major component. Avoiding negative public perception is one measure that may help avoid restrictive, unnecessary regulation.

Incremental growth and manure separation were the topics discussed during a panel of Pennsylvania dairy producers who shared their stories at the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania (PDMP) annual meeting.

Over the last several years working as an environmental consultant on dairies, I have heard one question from my clients over and over again: How do we remove solids from our synthetically lined lagoons? Unfortunately, I have learned that removing manure solids once they have accumulated in a lagoon is easier said than done.

Not a single speaker at the University of Wisconsin Discovery Farms Conference claimed to be in possession of a crystal ball, but that didn’t stop them from hypothesizing about what might be next in terms of nutrient applications. Looking to the future is important because today’s best still isn’t good enough.

Edaleen Dairy of Lynden, Washington, has taken nutrient management to the next level. First an anaerobic digester was installed, and then the farm installed a dissolved air flotation (DAF) unit. Now, instead of being a waste to manage, their cow manure will have more specific applications on their crop ground and will eventually be their next income stream.