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Within the next twelve months, several new EPA regulations will take effect, changing the ways many feedyards currently manage their manure. The new regulations reduce the number of head considered to be a CAFO, or Confined Animal Feeding Operation. This means many feedyards not currently permitted must find ways to comply with the regulations. The new lays also lower the threshold limits of manure applied to farm or grassland. This is causing feedyard managers to reconsider the way they prepare manure for land application. 
"Many yards pile the manure into big mounds, load it on a truck and haul it out of the yard," says Stan Brown, president of the Brown Bear Corporation. "The manure, which contains large amounts of nitrogen, is spread on farmland for fertilizer." However, due to the volatility of nitrogen, only a small portion of it can be utilized by the soil. "Just 25 percent of the nitrogen is available," Brown explains. "With raw manure, 75 percent of the nitrogen is lost in gas or solubles that leach down into the ground, and that is what concerns the EPA. Composting the manure converts the nitrogen to a slow release form, and the vast majority of the nitrogen is utilized by the soil over a few years," Brown says. Although composting is not a new idea, it may become a more popular one as EPA regulations tighten. However, many feedyards do not have an economical way to correctly compost manure. "Composting requires oxygen," explains Brown. "The bacteria that break down manure work best aerobically, or with oxygen, and simply piling up manure does not provide enough oxygen to the inside of the manure pile." To increase the composting effect and allow oxygen to reach the manure, Brown developed an aerator fit for a feedlot environment. The aerator can be attached to a tractor or front end loader, or can be purchased as a self-powered unit. It has several "saw-tooth" paddles that pick up manure at the pen base. The manure is then "stirred" as it is passed through the series of paddles and is deposited into windrows. "These aerated windrows are an ideal environment for composting," says Brown. The composting process puts out heat, giving cattle a warm place to lay down. By aerating the windrows periodically, the manure is allowed to dry out, and the bacteria in the manure have sufficient oxygen to convert the volatile nitrogen into a slow-release form. 
As the aerator moves through the pens, it leaves behind an attractively shaped pen with a solid pen base. Cattle can easily walk to the bunk to feed without expending excess energy meandering through manure slop. Steve Mercer of Double M Farms uses the aerator to rebuild the pen base at his feedyard in Kearney, Nebraska. "The Brown Bear mixes mud and manure into windrows. We stir the windrows every few days to dry out the mixture, and then use the reconstituted mud and manure to rebuild the pen base and mounds," Mercer says. "The mixture packs in pretty hard and the cattle don't tear it up. It works a lot better than bringing in fresh dirt that cattle are prone to eat and dig holes in." Dean Christensen also uses the aerator to clean the pens at Christensen Cattle Company in Fullerton and Central City, Nebraska. "The Brown Bear has really helped in maintaining our pens, and therefore helps keep our cost of gains consistent, especially when we're in a wet and muddy period." The Christensen's spread some composted manure on their farmland near Fullerton, which is much sandier than normal. "When we bought the land, corn yields averaged between 80 and 100 bushels per acre. The added nutrients and added water retention capabilities of the compost have increased our yields to 160 to 175 bushels per acre," Christensen says. "It has also reduced our irrigation needs by 15 to 20 percent." As an added benefit, the weeds and other unwanted intrusive seeds in the manure are killed through the composting process. What remains is a product which looks and acts like "good rich black dirt." Composting also aids in fly control. "Flies lay their eggs in drying manure that is cracking on the outside, but is still moist on the inside. By turning the manure regularly, the fly eggs are buried in the windrows. Fewer eggs hatch, and as the manure heats up to pasteurization temperature, the eggs are killed," explains Brown. 
In addition to pen maintenance and composting, the aerator can also be used for snow removal. "The Brown Bear works good for moving snow," Mercer says. "It's quicker than other methods, especially if you're dealing with a lot of snow. We use it to clear the bunk lines for the feed trucks, and to clean the bunk aprons so the cattle can get to the bunk to eat."Whether cleaning pens of snow or manure, the Brown Bear aerator can be a big asset in pen maintenance. "As EPA regulations tighten, more and more feedyards will be looking for a better way to manage their manure. The EPA agrees that composing is an excellent management practice that, if done right, is friendly to the environment," says Brown. "Properly composting manure for land application is definitely helpful in meeting EPA compliance". |
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