Dairy aims to be first to test system that reclaims waste
STANWOOD Cows circle slowly on a carousel where they are cleaned and milked. Theyre unfazed by attention, whether its from the farm workers or an excited 4-year-old and her older siblings just home from school.
In a nearby barn, automated scrapers clean manure from the floor every couple of hours. From there, fiber is separated from the wet waste and composted. Piles of the soft, dry composted fibers sit in a white canvas hoop barn for a few days before being used as bedding for the cows. The remainder of the manure is bound for a lagoon. It might be used on this farm as fertilizer or transported to others that grow feed.
Fourth-generation farmer Jeremy Visser plans to add another step to waste processing at his dairy, where 2,000 cows produce about 20,000 gallons of milk a day. Hes looking to put in a system developed by Sedro-Woolley based Janicki Bioenergy. Its new technology, not yet tested on a working farm.
Visser aims to be the first. Hes partnered with the Stillaguamish Tribe, Snohomish Conservation District, Washington State University and the Dairy Farmers of Washington. They say the system could be a game-changer for how dairies process waste and protect water.
http://www.heraldnet.com/news/dairy-aims-to-be-first-to-test-system-that-reclaims-waste/