Manure

Editor’s note: The following is an opinion piece and has been reprinted from Texas Association of Dairymen with permission of the author.

Cows, with their four-chambered stomachs, have always been models of digestive proficiency, as anyone who’s dodged cow pies in a pasture can attest. These grazing bovines and other livestock produce thousands of pounds of manure daily.

As the dairy industry works to reduce its carbon footprint, one of the recommended actions is the use of anaerobic digesters to capture methane and convert it to renewable energy.

For some time, anaerobic digesters for nutrient management and clean energy have been discussed and utilized. However, much of the dairy industry is still unfamiliar with these beneficial systems.

Spring and fall are busy times of year for agriculture operations, whether preparing fields for the new cropping season or harvesting those crops. In many cases those two times of the year also involve pumping manure to evacuate the pits and fertilize the soil.

Covering manure storage is growing in popularity for a number of reasons, from odor control to minimizing rainwater accumulation to capturing biogas.