2019 INDIANAFair Oaks, Indiana
July 31-August 1 |
|
2019 seminars & presenTations
WEDNESDAY, July 31, 20194:00 to 6:00pm: Industry Presentations
Tent #1 – MANURE COMPOSTING BASICS Sponsor: Vermeer Mid-West As an operation grows so too does your manure volume leading to additional costs and challenges. Learn how composting can reduce handling costs and improve soil quality. Tent #2 – PITPRO INCREASES PROFITS AND PROFICIENCY IN MANURE HANDLING Sponsor: PitPro PitPro, an evolutionary product that will help producers better manage their manure pits by breaking down solids in the pit, creating a more uniform distribution of nutrients during pump out and reducing odor. Tent #3 – PUCK PUMP SCHOOL Sponsor: Puck Custom Enterprises Puck Pump School provides the opportunity to discuss how to better use the tools that we already possess and create more efficient tools for the future. Tent #4 – SPREAD LESS, FILTER MORE: USING ULTRAFILTRATION, FORWARD OSMOSIS, AND REVERSE OSMOSIS TO CONCENTRATE NUTRIENTS AND RECLAIM WATER Sponsor: Digested Organics Digested Organics manufactures advanced filtration solutions to help customers reduce wastewater disposal costs, reclaim clean water for reuse, and produce valuable co-products. |
Continuing education creditsCCA (Certified Crop Advisor) Continuing Education Units (CEU):
N.M. = Nutrient Management = CEUs S&W = Soils and Water = CEUs P.D. = Professional Development = CEUs C.M. = Crop Management = CEUs Pennsylvania Continuing Education Credits (CEC)
WI, IL, MI Level 2 Voluntary Applicator Certification Credits (VACC)
Indiana Cat 14 (CCH)
Indiana - PARP
Must attend Manure Application Regulations presentation by Trish Dunn at 8:00 a.m. CST on 08/01/19 plus three (3) more half-hour education sessions on 08/01/19. Minnesota - CAWT (Commercial Animal Waste Technician)
All education sessions, tours and demos will have a sign –in sheet for credit. |
THURSDAY, august 1, 2019
8:00 to 10:00am and 1:00-2:00pm: Educational Seminars
Tent #1: Manure and Nutrient Management Basics
Tent #1: Manure and Nutrient Management Basics
|
8:00am - Manure Application Regulations – Federal and State Level (0.5 N.M. CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Trish Dunn, Fertilizer Control Specialist, Office of Indiana State Chemist - What are the federal rules for manure applications? Does your state differ from the federal rules? This presentation will provide a brief summary of federal and a variety of state rules regarding manure applications.
|
| ||
|
8:30am - The Michigan EnviroImpact Tool: A Decision Support Tool for Short-Term Manure and Nutrient Application Planning (0.5 N.M. CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Erica Rogers, Michigan State University Extension Environmental Management Educator - The Michigan EnviroImpact Tool is a free daily runoff risk decision support tool to help farmers effectively plan short-term manure and nutrient application. This runoff risk tool uses National Weather Service information about precipitation, soil moisture and temperature, and landscape characteristics in order to forecast the potential for runoff. This presentation will cover the importance of manure and nutrient application planning and how the Michigan EnviroImpact Tool can aid in this process.
|
| ||
|
9:00am - Odor Management: What to Do! (0.5 N.M. CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Albert Heber, Professor and Agricultural Engineering Extension Specialist, Purdue University - Odor nuisance around livestock facilities and land application of manure continues to be an issue for some producers around the country and has been highlighted with major lawsuits against swine producers in North Carolina during the last 12 months. This session will describe odor management practices, and direct and indirect abatement methods, including prudent facility siting strategies.
|
| ||
|
9:30am - Foundational Nutrient Concepts Everyone Utilizing Manure Should Know (0.5 N.M. CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Robb Meinen, Senior Extension Associate, Department of Animal Science, Penn State University - If you work with manure and crops in any capacity you should know the foundational issues that impact nitrogen and phosphorus utilization efficiencies. The principles discussed in this presentation provide the knowledge base needed to make decisions in a world where balancing agriculture production and environmental conservation are both reality and necessity. These key concepts are paramount to both agronomic and economic nutrient decisions.
|
| ||
|
1:00pm - Livestock Waste Application Setback Requirements for Unpermitted Large CAFOs (0.5 S&W CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), David Ginder, Environmental Protection Specialist, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency - The Illinois CAFO rules were revised in August 2014. Setbacks for livestock waste application from surface waters, potable wells, and other protected resources are included in the new revisions. To claim the Agricultural Stormwater Exemption and preclude the need for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit coverage under the Clean Water Act, an unpermitted Large CAFO must meet the setback provisions for the land application of livestock waste found in the revised Illinois CAFO rules. This presentation will outline the applicable setback requirements an unpermitted Large CAFO must follow when land applying livestock waste.
|
|
|
1:30pm - What We Need to Know about Additive Products for Manure Treatment (0.5 N.M. CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Jiqin (JQ) Ni, Associate Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University - Manure additives are one of the technical options for managing and treating livestock and poultry manure. After decades of development, more than 50 commercial manure additive products are currently available in North America. This presentation provides a research-based overview for users and potential users of manure additives.
|
| ||
Tent #2: Manure and Soil
|
8:00am - Can Manure Improve Soil Health? (0.5 S&W CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Teng Lim, Associate Professor, P.E., University of Missouri Extension - A unique opportunity allowed a Missouri team to study soil health variables and manure land application, based on state-wide and research plot data. Data was compared between fields with and without manure application for carbons, mineralizable nitrogen, bulk density, water stable aggregates and other variables. A significant difference was found only for phosphorus. However, when the effects of manure land application was compared within the counties, manure applications increased the active carbon, organic carbon, phosphorus, and water stable aggregate values for some. Come discuss the potentials and meanings of these and what it means to your soil and production.
|
|
|
8:30am - Coupled Impact of Manure and Cover Crops on Optimal Corn Yield (0.5 S&W CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Shalamar Armstrong, Assistant Professor of Agronomy, Purdue University - Cover crops are increasing in popularity among Midwest farmers because of the potential to increase soil health and to reduce nutrient losses and soil erosion. Additionally, there is an emerging interest in mixing winter-kill cover crop species with over-wintering legume species (red clover) to improve the potential of soil N cycling and to determine an N credit. The results of this study will help guide Indiana corn and soybean producers in determining the most appropriate mixtures to maximize potential N cycling.
|
|
|
9:00am - Manure, Cover Crops and Improving Soil Functions (0.5 S&W CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Tony Bailey, State Conservation Agronomist, USDA-ARS - The inclusion of cover crops with manure applications improves nutrient use efficiency, water quality and soil functions. We’ll discuss the importance of rejuvenating soils by improving aggregate stability, increasing infiltration, improving nutrient cycling and decreasing compaction and why cover crops should be part of the cropping system.
|
| ||
|
9:30am - Practical Experiences Incorporating Swine Manure into a Soil Health System (0.5 S&W CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Mark Legan, Livestock & Crop Farmer, Legan Livestock & Grain, Inc. - Learn from Mark Legan about how they have leveraged soil health practices like no-till and cover crops in their west central swine farm. Hear about some of the challenges and opportunities they have encountered along the way and what they have done to address them.
|
| ||
|
1:00pm - Ohio’s Experience with Side-dressing Emerged Corn with Liquid Manure (0.5 N.M. CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Glen Arnold, Associate Professor, Ohio State University Extension - The use of liquid manure to side-dress corn has provided a new window of time for manure application in Ohio, This window from corn planting to the V4 stage of growth allows the manure nutrients to be utilized by a growing crop. On-farm trials indicate liquid swine manure can produce higher grain yields when compared to 28% urea ammonium nitrate fertilizer when applied at similar nitrogen levels and the cost savings on purchased fertilizer can pay for the manure application costs. This subsurface application of liquid manure into emerged corn can reduce nutrient losses from farm fields.
|
|
|
1:30pm - Manure Handling from Animal to Field: A Northeast US Perspective (0.5 N.M. CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), John Tyson, Regional Extension Agricultural Engineer, Penn State University Extension - For manure handling to be done effectively and efficiently on a farm it must be treated as an integrated system. All the individual parts must fit and work together to give the desired outcome. The selection of a part of the system or change in procedure at one point in the system will have ripple effects both upstream and downstream in the system. There may also be times when the goals of the manure system contradict the goals of the animal housing system. For example, if irrigation of a low solids liquid is the desired manure system this may lead to little or no bedding used in the housing which can lead to animal comfort issues. We will look at the characteristics of many of the manure handling systems used in the Northeast US and discuss how the systems are built for the betterment of animals, environment, and producers.
|
|
Tent #3: Safety and Health with Manure
|
8:00am - Enhancing the Safety and Health of Manure Storage and Handling Facilities (0.5 N.M. CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Bill Field, Professor, Purdue's Agricultural Safety and Health Program, Purdue University - Manure storage and handling have been associated with hundreds of fatal and non-fatal injuries. The most frequent include exposure to toxic gases, drowning, and entanglement in mechanical components. Presentation will provide a brief overview of critical risks and address a variety of prevention strategies, including the need for each facility to have formal emergency action plans.
|
|
|
8:30am - Planning for the Unexpected: Manure Storage and Natural Disasters (0.5 N.M. CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Kevin Erb, Director of the Conservation Professional Development and Training Program, Unviersity of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension - While we can’t prevent a lightning strike that ignites a manure stockpile or a ten-inch rain or flood that threatens your barns or manure storage, there are steps you can take in advance that both reduce the chances of a catastrophic problem and make sure that the actions you take don’t create an even riskier situation. Learn how other livestock farmers have taken steps to both be prepared and reduce the risk.
|
| ||
|
9:00am - Biosecure Animal Mortality Composting (0.5 N.M. CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Neslihan Akdeniz, Clinical Assistant Professor, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Why are these animal diseases keep coming back? Can your composting site be the reason for reoccurring disease outbreaks? How would you compost your animal mortalities in a biosecure way?
|
|
|
9:30am - Don’t Rely on Luck – Use the Right Hitch Pin (Safety in Manure Transportation) (0.5 P.D. CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Fred Whitford, Clinical Engagement Professor and Director of Purdue Pesticide Programs, Purdue University - There is a science to keeping an implement safely connected by a hitch pin to a truck or tractor. Not using the correct pin is a serious issue that farmers face. But when the implement detaches, you’ve lost control. You don’t have to guess who would be held responsible in the event of an accident. You will learn that there is a lot more to a hitch pin that you ever imagined.
|
| ||
|
1:00pm - Developing a PREPared Community with the Collaboration of Local, State, and University Resources (0.5 Sustainability CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Shawn Ehlers, Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University - While there are some calls we hope we never need to make or receive, developing a
framework to react to emergency situations allows for quicker mitigation and overall lessened impact on the farming operation, employees, and environment. This presentation focuses on potential hazards of manure storage and transport, as well as the development of a collaborative emergency preparedness Extension program to enhance training resources for rural communities and first responders.
|
| ||
|
1:30pm - The Role of Manure Management in Disease Control: Keep Biosecurity on Your Checklist! (0.5 N.M. CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Maria Cooper, Director of Biodefense and High-Consequence Disease Preparedness, Indiana State Board of Animal Health - Livestock and poultry producers are more concerned than ever about the potential impact of high-consequence diseases, such as highly pathogenic avian influenza and African swine fever. Learn about the long list of biosecurity measures used to protect poultry and swine operations including manure handling and management practices. In a major disease event, disposal of animal waste is critical to preventing spread. Creative and innovative ideas are needed to ensure manure is not a factor in spreading a disease that can devastate our livestock and poultry sectors.
|
|
Tent #4: New Technologies in Manure Management
|
8:00am - Newtrient Manure Technology Catalog: An On-line Resource for Everyone Involved in Dairy Manure Management (0.5 N.M. CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Mark Stoermann, Chief Operating Officier, Newtrient LLC - Looking at the manure-management technologies that currently exist and the new and emerging technologies, Newtrient provides a reliable, third-party technology evaluation tool for the dairy industry. This open-source, technology catalog provides a comprehensive listing of relevant and readily available dairy manure management technologies.
|
|
|
8:30am - Manure Management Technology Selection Guidance – What is Best for You (0.5 Sustainability CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Jeff Porter, National Animal Manure and Nutrient Management Team Leander, USDA-NRCS - There are a number of different manure management technologies available and new innovations are being introduced all of the time. So what technology will work best for a particular operation? Factors such as operational size, landowner goals and objectives and, of course, cost must be considered. This presentation will outline many of the available manure management technologies and provide guidance on approaches in selecting the right technology for a livestock operation.
|
|
|
9:00am - Anaerobic Digestion: From Waste to Energy (0.5 N.M. CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Ashley Belle, Extension Educator, Environmental & Energy Stewardship, University of Illinois Extension - Anaerobic digestion technology is promoted to farmers as a mechanism to capture methane emissions associated with the management of liquid manures and utilizing the produced methane-enriched biogas as an on-farm renewable fuel source. This session will cover the digestion process, steps for operating optimal digestion systems, and the current status of anaerobic digestion technology in the US.
|
| ||
|
9:30am - Excess On-Farm Phosphorus: Treatment of Manure and Effluent (0.5 S&W CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Chad Penn, Research scientist, USDA-ARS/Adjunct Professor, Purdue University - Is it possible to remove phosphorus (P) or at least reduce phosphorus solubility in manure and effluent without constructing an expensive and sophisticated waste-water treatment plant? Growers who are restricted in their manure and effluent applications due to excessive soil test P concentrations and soil P regulations must find alternatives to continue normal animal production. Learn about how phosphorus sorption materials can help reduce phosphorus losses to surface waters.
|
| ||
|
1:00pm - Renewable Nutrients: Obstacle v. Opportunity (0.5 N.M. CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Carl Ramsey, Digester Operations Manager, Prairie's Edge Dairy Farm, LLC. - In the age of sustainability and consumer based accountability, will we be able to lead, follow or get out of the way? What challenges do we face to excel in the future?
|
|
|
1:30pm - Panel Discussion: Precision Application: What’s in Use, What’s Coming Next (0.5 N.M.CEU, 0.5 CEC; 0.5 VACC, 0.5 CCH), Megan Dresbach, Vice President, W.D. Farms LLC, Jesse Dvorachek, Owner, Dvorachek Farm and Industry LLC and Stephen Lesher, Partner, Lesher Poultry Farm - Variable rate based on real-time nutrient sensors. Varying solid application based on manure moisture and density. Automated shutoffs near streams and setbacks. Hear from manure applicators across the Midwest about what precision technology they’re using today and what’s in the near future. Moderator: Kevin Erb.
|
|
student poster competition abstracts
On display at the registration desk
Developing and Testing a Biosecure Swine Mortality Composting System
Tiago Costa, Neslihan Akdeniz, Richard S. Gates, James F. Lowe; University of Illinois
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has identified composting as the preferred disposal method for both routine and emergency management of animal mortalities. Composting has been used to dispose mortalities during major animal disease outbreaks such as the recent 2014-2015 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak, the largest animal health emergency in United States history, which caused an economic impact of $3.3 billion dollars, and studies have shown that it has potential to be used for many other diseases. While these studies found that composting can eliminate nearly all pathogenic viruses including avian influenza, classical swine fever, Newcastle disease, and foot-and-mouth disease viruses by reaching high thermophilic temperatures, they have not assessed aerosol transmission of pathogens during the initial mesophilic phase of the process. The goal of the study is to develop and implement a biosecure swine mortality composting method and promote its use for emergency preparedness in the event of a disease outbreak in the U.S. A plastic wrapped composting system developed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency during the 2004 highly pathogenic AI outbreak was adapted to compost swine mortalities in the field using wood chips and ground corn stalks as cover materials for 7 weeks. An average 170 kg (± 39.0) of swine mortalities were placed in each compost shed. Two aeration systems (passive and active) were tested and pathogen samples were collected from the air outlets of the compost units during the first 10 days of the degradation process. Pathogen samples were also collected from the remaining tissues at the end of the experiment. The maximum temperature reached at the mortality layer varied from 44 to 84ºC. Statistical analysis revealed that both envelope material and aeration types have a statistically significant relationship with temperature at the mortality layer (P< 0.05). The mean temperature for bins loaded with corn stalks (30.89 ± 12.24) was higher than the mean for woodchips (27.82 ± 13.40) and the mean temperature for actively aerated bins (31.19 ± 12.90) was higher than the mean for passive (27.51 ± 12.69). 75% of the corn stalks compost sheds met either USEPA Class A or Class B temperature-time requirements, while 50% of the wood chips sheds met Class B requirements. PCR testing showed that all pathogens were inactivated during the composting process and that no pathogen was escaping the system as aerosols during the first 10 days of composting.
Bio-Methane Potential Testing and Modelling in Anaerobic Digestion
Sarah E. Daly and Ji-Qin Ni; Purdue University
Bio-methane Potential (BMP) tests are a frequently used method to determine the feasibility of a substrate for anaerobic digestion. In this study, different types of substrates (dairy manure, mixed industry wastes) were collected from several large-scale digester systems in Indiana state. Batch fermentation experiments of these substrates were conducted at mesophilic temperatures in 500 mL and 1000 mL digesters. The experiments continued until the daily methane production was less than 1% of its cumulative volume. The experimental results were compared with existing linear and non-linear models to determine their reliability in predicting methane yield.
Persistence of Antibiotic Resistance in Manure-amended Agricultural Soils
Mara Zelt, Amy Millmier Schmidt, Zach Staley, Xu Li, Bing Wang, and Dan Miller; University of Nebraska-Lincoln and USDA-ARS
Antibiotic resistant (AR) infection is a serious threat to public health and growing evidence suggests a potential link to antibiotic use in livestock. Because manure represents a potential pathway for antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARG) to reach the environment and food supply, it is essential to determine the potential risk for transferal of ARB and ARG to a soil environment from animal manures used as fertilizer. This study documents the persistence of ARB and ARG in agricultural soil for six months following fertilization by: freshly scrapped beef feedlot manure, beef manure stockpiled for 6 months prior to application, composted beef manure, and inorganic fertilizer. Prevalence of ARB – azithromycin (AZ) - and tetracycline (TET)-resistant Escherichia coli and tylosin (TY) - and TET-resistant Enterococci – and ARG – ermB, ermF, tetO, and tetQ – in the top 10 cm of soil under each application type was measured and compared to ARB and ARG in control soils receiving no treatment. Preliminary results indicate that fertilization by either fresh manure or stockpiled manure increased the prevalence of TY Enterococci. However, fertilization by composted beef manure did not significantly increase any of the ARB populations.
Filtering Phosphorus from Effluent with Industrial By-products
Isis S. P. C. Scott, Chad J. Penn; Purdue University
Soils with high soil test phosphorus (P) concentrations are often sources for non-point P transport to surface waters. For such soils, P application must be applied at rates less than the crop P removal rate in order to decrease soil test P concentrations and reduce long-term negative impacts on water quality. Thus, manure or effluent land application rates are limited among soils possessing high soil test P concentrations, which can become a disposal challenge for some farms. One possible solution is to reduce the P concentration in manure/effluent prior to application, which would allow a greater amount of the material to be applied. We present some preliminary studies that examine the potential for steel slag and steel shavings to filter P from effluent. Experiments were conducted using dairy effluent and municipal wastewater with pilot-scale flow-through columns. Both materials were able to remove appreciable amounts of P, although not necessarily economically feasible. Further research is needed for testing manure effluent with other P sorption materials for optimizing economics and feasibility.
Development of Methodology to Document and Code Farm-related Injuries and Fatalities Involving Manure Storage, Handling and Transport
Mahmoud M. Nour, William E. Field, Ji-Qin Ni, Charlene Cheng; Purdue University
As part of ongoing surveillance of fatalities and injuries involving agricultural confined spaces by Purdue University’s Agricultural Safety and Health Program, nearly 300 cases involving manure storage, handling, and transport equipment and facilities have been documented over the past 30 years. With the exception of a summary of 77 fatalities published by Beaver and Field1, these cases have not been previously analyzed or published due to a lack of resources and the limitations of the Purdue Agricultural Confined Spaces Incident Database (PACSID) which was designed primarily for analysis of grain-related cases. These limitations included differences in terminology used to code case information in the PACSID and dissimilar causative and contributing factors.
To develop a consistent and more useful approach to process and analyze data, 28 U.S. manure-related incidents involving 39 victims documented as having occurred in 2017 were examined for type of incident, victim characteristics, primary contributing factors, and nature of injuries. A review of literature was conducted to identify previously reported contributing factors, and a coding rubric was developed and reviewed by a panel of experts. It was determined that the rubric provided a consistent way to code and analyze descriptive information available on each case. A pilot analysis was completed of the 39 cases using the new tool, and results were summarized. The final methodology will be used to analyze all historically documented incidents, as well as future incidents. Findings presented include a review of relevant literature, discussion of the methods used in case documentation, classifications developed from sample data, and a summary of incidents in 2017. Anticipated outcomes include: 1) consistent strategy to document, code, and summarize manure-related incidents; 2) means of classification of key contributing factors; 3) identification of new or emerging trends; and 4) completion of previously documented incidents.
A Quantitative Understanding of the Role of Co-composted Biochar in Plant Growth Using Meta-analysis
Yuchuan Wang, Neslihan Akdeniz, Maria B. Villamil, Paul C. Davidson; University of Illinois
The combined use of biochar and compost as a soil amendment presents benefits to crops and nutrient cycling. Although there are literature reviews regarding biochar and biochar-compost mixtures, a quantitative literature review on the role of co-composted biochar (hereby called COMBI) in plant productivity is currently missing. The goal of this review paper is to find evidence-based measures of the effects of application rates, soil pH, plant types, biochar feedstock, and compost materials, on plant productivity. Plant productivity covers a variety of measurements but mostly refers to grain yield and above-ground biomass. Response ratio was selected as the effect size. Funnel plot showed that the studies were reasonably symmetrically distributed around the mean effect size. Results showed that application rates of less than 20 t/ha and more than 30 t/ha significantly increased plant productivity by 48.3 and 15.7%, respectively, while no significant yield increases were found for the application rates between 20 to 30t/ha. When data was grouped based on the soil pH, the greatest increase in plant productivity was found to be at acidic soil pH values (pH 4-5), which was expected because the liming effect of biochar is often reported as one of the main mechanisms behind the increased crop yields. When different plant species were compared, cereal grasses grown with COMBI yielded significantly higher grain yields (39.7%). Rice husk biochar yielded the highest increase in productivity but this result was based on only one study. The second highest increase was obtained with wood-based biochars (29.4%) based on ten studies. The effect sizes found with our meta-analyses are based on 14 research works worldwide and represent the most updated information regarding the effects of COMBI on plant production. As more data on COMBI become available, data analyses can be updated to make more robust comparisons.
I-Compost Calculator- Convenient Design for Animal Mortality Composting
Nicholas Vassilakis and Neslihan Akdeniz; University of Illinois
Composting is a preferred method of animal mortality disposal that, when done in accordance with the Illinois Dead Animal Disposal Act, allows producers to safely dispose of their mortalities and recover nutrients for their crops. Proper design of the composting site is the key to the successful completion of the composting process. It is often a challenge for producers to design their own animal mortality composting sites. An online calculator, I-compost , has been prepared to assist producers in calculating the number and size of the bins they will need to manage their routine animal mortalities. The calculator can be accessed at go.illinois.edu/icompost. It has
separate tabs for different animal species. Unlike other spreadsheets available online, the calculator is very easy to use. The only information that is required to enter is the number of animals and turns per year. If the average weight of the animals and expected mortality rates are known they can be entered in order to make site-specific decisions. The calculator allows users to choose bin dimensions from drop-down menus. It calculates average daily animal loss, annual sawdust required, and the number of primary and secondary bins needed. In this poster, how the calculator works will be explained by providing examples for swine, poultry, beef, and
dairy producers.
Tiago Costa, Neslihan Akdeniz, Richard S. Gates, James F. Lowe; University of Illinois
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has identified composting as the preferred disposal method for both routine and emergency management of animal mortalities. Composting has been used to dispose mortalities during major animal disease outbreaks such as the recent 2014-2015 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak, the largest animal health emergency in United States history, which caused an economic impact of $3.3 billion dollars, and studies have shown that it has potential to be used for many other diseases. While these studies found that composting can eliminate nearly all pathogenic viruses including avian influenza, classical swine fever, Newcastle disease, and foot-and-mouth disease viruses by reaching high thermophilic temperatures, they have not assessed aerosol transmission of pathogens during the initial mesophilic phase of the process. The goal of the study is to develop and implement a biosecure swine mortality composting method and promote its use for emergency preparedness in the event of a disease outbreak in the U.S. A plastic wrapped composting system developed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency during the 2004 highly pathogenic AI outbreak was adapted to compost swine mortalities in the field using wood chips and ground corn stalks as cover materials for 7 weeks. An average 170 kg (± 39.0) of swine mortalities were placed in each compost shed. Two aeration systems (passive and active) were tested and pathogen samples were collected from the air outlets of the compost units during the first 10 days of the degradation process. Pathogen samples were also collected from the remaining tissues at the end of the experiment. The maximum temperature reached at the mortality layer varied from 44 to 84ºC. Statistical analysis revealed that both envelope material and aeration types have a statistically significant relationship with temperature at the mortality layer (P< 0.05). The mean temperature for bins loaded with corn stalks (30.89 ± 12.24) was higher than the mean for woodchips (27.82 ± 13.40) and the mean temperature for actively aerated bins (31.19 ± 12.90) was higher than the mean for passive (27.51 ± 12.69). 75% of the corn stalks compost sheds met either USEPA Class A or Class B temperature-time requirements, while 50% of the wood chips sheds met Class B requirements. PCR testing showed that all pathogens were inactivated during the composting process and that no pathogen was escaping the system as aerosols during the first 10 days of composting.
Bio-Methane Potential Testing and Modelling in Anaerobic Digestion
Sarah E. Daly and Ji-Qin Ni; Purdue University
Bio-methane Potential (BMP) tests are a frequently used method to determine the feasibility of a substrate for anaerobic digestion. In this study, different types of substrates (dairy manure, mixed industry wastes) were collected from several large-scale digester systems in Indiana state. Batch fermentation experiments of these substrates were conducted at mesophilic temperatures in 500 mL and 1000 mL digesters. The experiments continued until the daily methane production was less than 1% of its cumulative volume. The experimental results were compared with existing linear and non-linear models to determine their reliability in predicting methane yield.
Persistence of Antibiotic Resistance in Manure-amended Agricultural Soils
Mara Zelt, Amy Millmier Schmidt, Zach Staley, Xu Li, Bing Wang, and Dan Miller; University of Nebraska-Lincoln and USDA-ARS
Antibiotic resistant (AR) infection is a serious threat to public health and growing evidence suggests a potential link to antibiotic use in livestock. Because manure represents a potential pathway for antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARG) to reach the environment and food supply, it is essential to determine the potential risk for transferal of ARB and ARG to a soil environment from animal manures used as fertilizer. This study documents the persistence of ARB and ARG in agricultural soil for six months following fertilization by: freshly scrapped beef feedlot manure, beef manure stockpiled for 6 months prior to application, composted beef manure, and inorganic fertilizer. Prevalence of ARB – azithromycin (AZ) - and tetracycline (TET)-resistant Escherichia coli and tylosin (TY) - and TET-resistant Enterococci – and ARG – ermB, ermF, tetO, and tetQ – in the top 10 cm of soil under each application type was measured and compared to ARB and ARG in control soils receiving no treatment. Preliminary results indicate that fertilization by either fresh manure or stockpiled manure increased the prevalence of TY Enterococci. However, fertilization by composted beef manure did not significantly increase any of the ARB populations.
Filtering Phosphorus from Effluent with Industrial By-products
Isis S. P. C. Scott, Chad J. Penn; Purdue University
Soils with high soil test phosphorus (P) concentrations are often sources for non-point P transport to surface waters. For such soils, P application must be applied at rates less than the crop P removal rate in order to decrease soil test P concentrations and reduce long-term negative impacts on water quality. Thus, manure or effluent land application rates are limited among soils possessing high soil test P concentrations, which can become a disposal challenge for some farms. One possible solution is to reduce the P concentration in manure/effluent prior to application, which would allow a greater amount of the material to be applied. We present some preliminary studies that examine the potential for steel slag and steel shavings to filter P from effluent. Experiments were conducted using dairy effluent and municipal wastewater with pilot-scale flow-through columns. Both materials were able to remove appreciable amounts of P, although not necessarily economically feasible. Further research is needed for testing manure effluent with other P sorption materials for optimizing economics and feasibility.
Development of Methodology to Document and Code Farm-related Injuries and Fatalities Involving Manure Storage, Handling and Transport
Mahmoud M. Nour, William E. Field, Ji-Qin Ni, Charlene Cheng; Purdue University
As part of ongoing surveillance of fatalities and injuries involving agricultural confined spaces by Purdue University’s Agricultural Safety and Health Program, nearly 300 cases involving manure storage, handling, and transport equipment and facilities have been documented over the past 30 years. With the exception of a summary of 77 fatalities published by Beaver and Field1, these cases have not been previously analyzed or published due to a lack of resources and the limitations of the Purdue Agricultural Confined Spaces Incident Database (PACSID) which was designed primarily for analysis of grain-related cases. These limitations included differences in terminology used to code case information in the PACSID and dissimilar causative and contributing factors.
To develop a consistent and more useful approach to process and analyze data, 28 U.S. manure-related incidents involving 39 victims documented as having occurred in 2017 were examined for type of incident, victim characteristics, primary contributing factors, and nature of injuries. A review of literature was conducted to identify previously reported contributing factors, and a coding rubric was developed and reviewed by a panel of experts. It was determined that the rubric provided a consistent way to code and analyze descriptive information available on each case. A pilot analysis was completed of the 39 cases using the new tool, and results were summarized. The final methodology will be used to analyze all historically documented incidents, as well as future incidents. Findings presented include a review of relevant literature, discussion of the methods used in case documentation, classifications developed from sample data, and a summary of incidents in 2017. Anticipated outcomes include: 1) consistent strategy to document, code, and summarize manure-related incidents; 2) means of classification of key contributing factors; 3) identification of new or emerging trends; and 4) completion of previously documented incidents.
A Quantitative Understanding of the Role of Co-composted Biochar in Plant Growth Using Meta-analysis
Yuchuan Wang, Neslihan Akdeniz, Maria B. Villamil, Paul C. Davidson; University of Illinois
The combined use of biochar and compost as a soil amendment presents benefits to crops and nutrient cycling. Although there are literature reviews regarding biochar and biochar-compost mixtures, a quantitative literature review on the role of co-composted biochar (hereby called COMBI) in plant productivity is currently missing. The goal of this review paper is to find evidence-based measures of the effects of application rates, soil pH, plant types, biochar feedstock, and compost materials, on plant productivity. Plant productivity covers a variety of measurements but mostly refers to grain yield and above-ground biomass. Response ratio was selected as the effect size. Funnel plot showed that the studies were reasonably symmetrically distributed around the mean effect size. Results showed that application rates of less than 20 t/ha and more than 30 t/ha significantly increased plant productivity by 48.3 and 15.7%, respectively, while no significant yield increases were found for the application rates between 20 to 30t/ha. When data was grouped based on the soil pH, the greatest increase in plant productivity was found to be at acidic soil pH values (pH 4-5), which was expected because the liming effect of biochar is often reported as one of the main mechanisms behind the increased crop yields. When different plant species were compared, cereal grasses grown with COMBI yielded significantly higher grain yields (39.7%). Rice husk biochar yielded the highest increase in productivity but this result was based on only one study. The second highest increase was obtained with wood-based biochars (29.4%) based on ten studies. The effect sizes found with our meta-analyses are based on 14 research works worldwide and represent the most updated information regarding the effects of COMBI on plant production. As more data on COMBI become available, data analyses can be updated to make more robust comparisons.
I-Compost Calculator- Convenient Design for Animal Mortality Composting
Nicholas Vassilakis and Neslihan Akdeniz; University of Illinois
Composting is a preferred method of animal mortality disposal that, when done in accordance with the Illinois Dead Animal Disposal Act, allows producers to safely dispose of their mortalities and recover nutrients for their crops. Proper design of the composting site is the key to the successful completion of the composting process. It is often a challenge for producers to design their own animal mortality composting sites. An online calculator, I-compost , has been prepared to assist producers in calculating the number and size of the bins they will need to manage their routine animal mortalities. The calculator can be accessed at go.illinois.edu/icompost. It has
separate tabs for different animal species. Unlike other spreadsheets available online, the calculator is very easy to use. The only information that is required to enter is the number of animals and turns per year. If the average weight of the animals and expected mortality rates are known they can be entered in order to make site-specific decisions. The calculator allows users to choose bin dimensions from drop-down menus. It calculates average daily animal loss, annual sawdust required, and the number of primary and secondary bins needed. In this poster, how the calculator works will be explained by providing examples for swine, poultry, beef, and
dairy producers.