Dairy farms are an extremely valuable resource and are more sustainable than most think. The manure of dairy cows is a sustainable commodity in of itself. For centuries farmers have been adjusting to climate changes, utilizing every resource, and adapting to the changes and concerns of each generation. What makes us sustainable? We work very hard; we take pride in our family, employees, and the environment. Today we have more resources and technology that helps us ensure our dairy is here for our kids, their children after that.
Last year we started construction on a waste water receiving pit. The ground was excavated and the concrete walls of the octagon pit were poured. This pit has the capacity to hold 68,000 gallons of waste. So as the lanes and corrals are scrapped and washed the waste is collected in the receiving pit. The pit is equipped with an agitator pump that mixes the waste and a pump that feeds to a separator. The benefit of this system is that it increases the amount of solid waste we can collect which in turn results in more bedding replacements, which means we are not spending additional funds on bedding. After the solids are collected the remaining liquid is transferred to a lagoon and pumped for field spreading. Because more solid waste was collected from the liquid there are fewer nutrients in the liquid that is spread on the fields for crop fertilization. This is beneficial to sustain the ground; excessive nutrients can harm the crops and land. It’s a continuous process of sustainability; the manure is recycled and used for cost savings and field fertilization, which creates more feed for the cows, and allows them to produce more milk for human consumption.
