A dozen dairy farmers shared their stories on the campus of California State University, Fresno, about what they do when manure happens, emphasizing how to turn waste into a money-saver while complying with closer government regulations.
A dozen dairy farmers shared their stories on the campus of California State University, Fresno, about what they do when manure happens, emphasizing how to turn waste into a money-saver while complying with closer government regulations.
"I've heard the word 'waste' a lot here," said Art Darling, executive director of Sunshine State Milk Producers in Florida, the final speaker at the program that drew about 100 people. "We should try not to use that term. What we have is a resource."
What dairy producers also have is an increasing need to do something environmentally and economically sound with the cow manure they produce -- 65 billion pounds of it in California every year.
Those concerns -- along with rising costs for commercial fertilizer -- have helped drive innovations in manure management systems that were discussed at the program held by the College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology and Sustainable Conservation, a nonprofit environmental organization based in San Francisco.
Participants told how dairy operators are taking manure, which might otherwise pollute underground and surface waters, and either making money from it or using it to cut costs on their operations. Their observations included these:
Darling talked of how a Florida company is making what it calls "cowpeat," an alternative to native peat for potting soil used by nurseries. It is made from solids from dairy waste water that is screened and processed.
Liquid manure applied to crops that he grows has saved Jeff Strom, with Clauss Dairy Farms in Hilmar, about $80 an acre or a total of $40,000 a year.
Skeptical at first, Strom became convinced of the manure's value by agronomist Marsha Campbell, a Stanislaus County University of California farm adviser. "Now, I just want to say it works and it works and it works," Strom said.
Using flow meters, dairy operators can deliver just enough nutrients to nourish plants.
Gary Crowell, of Bar Vee Dairy in Turlock, said his savings from using manure from his 700 Holsteins to fertilize crops is about $110 an acre on the 270 acres he farms. "It's humongous," he said.
One way dairy farmers can comply with regulations on disposal of nutrients is to have plants that consume it. A panel of farmers talked of how they do triple cropping -- getting three crops in a year -- from their land, at the same time using minimum tillage that burns less fuel and creates less dust.
"An advantage of triple cropping is the tons of [grain or forage] you get off per acre," said Tom Barcellos, with T-Bar Dairy in Tipton and Porterville. "It also means you use more nutrients and lessen the potential for ground-water contamination from percolation through the soil."
Barcellos grew -- in succession -- wheat, corn and Sudan sorghum.
There is a demand from other growers for dried solids separated from manure.
John Mello, a Hanford dairy operator, uses a screening system that results in dried manure he supplies to five growers, whose crops include corn, cotton and walnuts. Manure is a $12 million commodity statewide.
In the past, Mello has sold manure and may be able to again because of the skyrocketing price of natural gas, which accounts for 90 percent of commercial fertilizer production costs.
Jake Raadt, a Lemoore dairy operator, and Ron Koetsier, who has a dairy in Visalia, use vacuuming equipment to collect manure they put into methane digesters that are used to generate electrical power.
"You get cows, you get poop, you have to deal with it," Koetsier said.
His one lament: He believes utility companies should pay for excess power generated at dairies.
Edgar Dejaeger, with Double DJ Farms in Chowchilla, has a system for scraping manure and putting it into what is commonly called a "honey wagon," then injecting it into the ground using hoses and tilling equipment.
"Don't know why they call it a honey wagon," he said. "It doesn't taste like honey, and it doesn't smell like honey."
Because he is just a mile from Chowchilla's city limits, Dejaeger chose not to build a large lagoon for waste that might draw flies or create unpleasant odors. Instead he uses a system of what he calls "holding cells," each of which forms a crust that buffers against smells and flies.
Several dairy operators mentioned assistance they have received from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Environmental Quality Incentives Program. The USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service will pump about $12.5 million during 2006 on a shared cost basis into projects to protect water quality at dairies.
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Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
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