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Green Meadow
Farms, Inc.
"Where the
Latchstring is always out"
          
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This is a somewhat complicated
system. It took a lot of
time and trial and error to make it what it is today. This process is
soon going to be even more complicated when the Methane digester is up
and running.
This system handles the manure
from farms 2 and 3. To explain the system we have to start in the barn
with the cows.
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When the cows are
in the parlor being milked the alleys in the barn are scrapped (picture
to the left) in to a holding pit at the end of the pen. (right picture)
We bed our barns
with sand so the manure is full of sand when it enters the pit. Sand is
the ultimate bedding from the standpoint of dairy cow health. Sand
provides a healthy environment for the udder, keeps cows cleaner, and
aids in cow traction on slick concrete. The sand is trucked to the farm
from a gravel pit located near the farm.
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Once the manure is in the pit
at the end of the barn the sand needs to be taken out of it. For this
process we use Sand-Manure Separators, from the
McLanahan Corporation. Six separators total
are used, four of the separators are located at farm 2 and there are two
at farm 3.
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Above is a sand separator from 3
different angles. The manure from the pit makes its way to the
separator where recycled water is added in order to dilute the mixture,
which gives the sand a chance to settle out. Once the sand it settled
out of the manure it is augured out and stacked. At this point the
manure is almost sand free. The separated sand that comes out of this
process is stacked out of the way to drain and dry. In a couple months
it will be ready to be reused under the heifers.
That leaves us with the manure.
There are two options for the manure, haul it to the field for injection
or it can be sent to the treatment plant. We have added another
step in the treatment process with the addition of the methane digester.
For more information on how the digester works please visit the
methane digester page.
After the digester it continues through the process as follows.
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We like to use the injector (right
photo) as much as possible because of the high cost of running the
treatment plant. |
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Manure that is not injected is sent
to the treatment plant, which we call the hill. At the hill ferric
chloride is injected into the manure stream. Ferric chloride is used
to bring the pH of the manure to 7.0, once the pH is neutralized a
polymer is added. Polymer binds most of the nutrients and the fiber in
the manure together. Resulting in a gooey coagulation of solids
(containing fibers and nutrients) and a tea colored water (the coloring
comes from the ferric chloride). The next step is to separate the water
from the solids by running it over and through the belt filter press.
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Look at the wall of pipes in the
picture above left. This is our solution to mixing the ferric chloride
and polymer in the manure stream. With some help Craig came up with
this idea of 90 degree turns after having trouble with an in-line
mixer. The in-line mixer would plug up with cow hair, ear tags, or
anything else that made it into the manure stream. The turns in the
pipes cause turbulence with no restrictions.
(middle picture above)
Demonstrates the manure with ferric chloride and polymer in it as it is
starts into the belt press. You can see that the water is separated
from the solids.
(above right) Side view of the
belt press. Showing the rolls and belts that squeeze the water out of
the solids.
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(Left) What the manure looks like
before it goes through the treatment plant. All the nutrients are still
in it.
(Right) Clean water that comes
out of the treatment plant. Remember that the color that is in the
water is a stain that comes from the ferric chloride, which is a product
of the iron industry. This is a nutrient free product.
(Below) The nutrients are now in
the form of a fiber cake. (solids) |
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At this stage in the process we
have 2 products, fiber cake and clear water. The clean water is
recycled and sent back up to the front of the farm to flush the parlor
floors and to clean the sand from the manure. All of the extra water is
sent to the lagoon. Where it is collected until it is used to irrigate
the crops. Our lagoon water is treated to reduce any smell that may be
associated with it.
The fiber cake ends up in one of
two places. It is either spread on the field as fertilizer or it is
composted. The composted manure is then sold off of the farm.
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(Above left) Drop
irrigation.
(Above Middle) Truck spreader
that is being loaded with fiber that will be hauled to the field. The
dense nature of the fiber makes it easy to haul long distances.
(Above Right) Compost being
turned. All of the compost that is made at this farm
is sold by Morgan composting. |
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6400 Hollister Rd
Elsie, MI 48831
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phone: (989) 862-4291
fax: (989) 862-4292
email:
darcydorr@aol.com
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