Dairy farms must be able to deal with increasing environmental pressures related to waste management. A new obstacle facing dairy farmers throughout the United States is handling and disposing of waste generated from herds on a limited land area. Farmers are forced to either spread manure daily or hold the manure in a storage structure until disposal. Many times, earthen lagoons, concrete lined pits or slurry stores are used, manure is removed once or twice a year. The major problems associated with storing liquid manure are solids build-up and the development of noxious odors. Solids build-up often leads to the formation of a surface crust, which reduces aeration and slows the digestion of manure. In addition, solids build-up makes it extremely difficult to pump the manure out for field application. Noxious odors develop as the manure is undergoing anaerobic digestion and are offensive to neighbors. The noxious odors are not only offensive, but also lower the fertilizer value of the manure through nitrogen loss.
A bacterial additive which would enhance the solids digestion in manure, while preserving the fertilizer value and decreasing the noxious odors would give the farmers an advantage in waste management. Recently researchers at BioSafe Laboratories have developed such a product. The data shown in the following figures summarize the results from a field trial in Wisconsin.
METHODS
The recommended level of Bio-2000 Dairy Formulation was added to a slurry store immediately after pumping out in the fall. The volume at the time of addition was 167,000 gallons. Viscosity, total solids, nutrient values (N,P,K) and volatile fatty acids were analyzed before and after treatment.
RESULTS
The microbial activity of the diary manure was monitored before and after treatment (figure 1). Treatment with Bio-2000 increased the microbial activity
3.2 times compared to microbial activity before the treatment. This increase in microbial activity was due not only to an increase in the number of bacteria from the inoculant but also an increase in the natural facultative bacteria capable of digesting the manure. Overall, the increase in facultative organisms results in an increase in facultative digestion. The end result of this is a decrease in viscosity.
Data from this trial indicates that treatment with the Diary Formulation of Bio-2000 reduced the manure viscosity by 62.5% (figure 2). Viscosity is a measurement of the flow characteristics of a liquid. For example, the viscosity of water at room temperature is 1 centipoise (cP), while typical liquid dairy manure with bedding solids has a viscosity of 2500-3000 cP. In this trial, the viscosity of the dairy manure was 2684 cP before treatment and was reduced to 1005 cP after treatment. The benefit of this reduction in viscosity is easier pumping (less resistance to flow) at the time the storage structure is ready to empty.
The increase in facultative organisms observed with treatment of Dairy Bio-2000 results in a decrease in anaerobic digestion. This leads to a decrease in noxious odors. Data from this trial indicates that volatile fatty acids, which are a contributing component of noxious odors, were reduced by 68% after treatment with Bio-2000. Using High Performance Liquid Chromatography, volatile fatty acids were analyzed in dairy manure samples taken before and after treatment with Bio-2000 (figure 3). Each peak represents a specific acid. Nine acids were detected before treatment while only 6 acids were detected after treatment. The reduction of noxious odors is directly related to the elimination of 3 fatty acids (Isobutyrate, Isovalerate, and one unknown acid). In addition, a decrease in the concentration of some of the remaining volatile fatty acids was also observed. The benefit of this is reduced odors during storage and at time of pumping and field application.
The fertilizer value of the dairy manure was also monitored before and after treatment. Treatment with the Dairy Formulation of Bio-2000 maintained the fertilizer value of the dairy manure (figure 4).
SUMMARY
| UXL Home | Product Info. | Product Test Results. | Product List |
To contact BioSafe™ Please call: 1-(408)-369-1225