112340 - Poultry Waste Management

In Jul 2000, the North Carolina attorney general's office announced an agreement with Smithfield Foods Inc to phase out open air hog lagoons and spray fields in North Carolina. Premium Standard Farms signed a similar agreement two months later, pledging $2.1 million. The Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center (APWMC) at North Carolina State University (NCSU) was assigned the central role of coordinating the development and implementation of the hog waste management alternatives. Environmentally Superior Technologies (ESTs) is defined in the agreement as technologies that can be permitted by state government and are determined to be technically, operationally and economically feasible. A Phase 1 Technology Determination Report, issued in Jul 2004, identified two of the original candidates that were capable of meeting the Agreements' environmental performance standards and were declared to be contingent EST. Those technologies were solids separation/nitrification-denitrification/soluble phosphorus removal system and high solids anaerobic digester system. In Phase II, an additional eight candidate ESTs were evaluated.

Use of coal ash in poultry waste management

In August 1997, North Carolina State University broke ground to develop the Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center. Soon after, a composting facility was built next to the center. Since January 1998, the facility has primarily been used to compost chicken and turkey mortalities. The work there fits into the objectives of a public-private partnership formed by the center to explore conversion of animal waste and mortality to value-added products. Research breakthroughs at the NCSU Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center and at other centers throughout the nation will undoubtedly provide improved options to create value-added products - not environmental threats.

Researchers from the Forest Products Department at Mississippi State University have taken the first step toward solving waste management problems faced by furniture manufacturers and poultry producers. In a recent six-month study, they learned that wood waste from furniture production composted with poultry litter resulted in a less toxic and potentially more useful byproduct. Proper application of litter provides the nutrients to support plant growth while improving soil quality with the addition of organic matter. Composting is a proven method that can reduce waste volume and toxicity, and transform waste into a product that can be used as a soil amendment to increase organic matter and waterholding capacity, as well as improve soil texture. Composting in this manner could be an economical, simple, safe and viable option for waste disposal and utilization. The composted materials can be used as soil amendments or potting media.

Noel Lyons' favorite recipe goes something like this: Blend chicken litter, spoiled milk, the rancid contents of cafeteria grease traps, drywall scraps, wood shavings, waste paper and waste-treatment-plant residue. Unleash microbes to gorge on the mix until molecules break down, generating heat that cooks it until it's germ-free.

How does the public's knowledge of that business data improve water quality? About 6,300 farms statewide, including corn and grain growers, are required to have nutrient management plans under a 1998 state law.

Transofrmation into fertilizer