Animal Waste Management Introduction and BMPs

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Animal Waste ManagementIntroduction and BMPs
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Animal Production in the United States

• Broilers 7.6 Billion (1996)
• Turkeys 300 Million (1996)
• Swine 103 Million (1995)
• Dairy Cows 9.2 Million (1996)
• Beef Cattle 101 Million (1996)
• Sheep 7.9 Million (1996)

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North Carolina Animal Production
Turkeys
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Broilers
Swine
Based on NCDA Agricultural Statistics, 1997
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Animal Wastes and Pollutants

• Oxygen Demand (BOD5)
• Nutrients
• Nitrogen
• Phosphorus
• Others (Cu, Zn)
• Bacteria
• Viruses
• Sediment

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Livestock Manure and Nutrient ProductionAnnual
Production per Animal (lbs.)
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Nitrogen
Percent of non-legume crop nitrogen needs
supplied by manure.
of Crop Needs
0 - 10
10 - 40
40 - 70
70 - 100
gt 100
Barker and Zublena, 1995
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Phosphorus
Percent of crop phosphorus needs supplied by
manure.
of Crop Needs
0 - 10
10 - 40
40 - 70
70 - 100
gt 100
Barker and Zublena, 1995
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Animal Waste Management BMPs

• Waste Management Plans
• Education
• Handling
• Storage
• Treatment
• Application
• Animal Moralities
• Inspections

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Farm Certification and Permits

• Clean Water Act (1974) - USEPA
• NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
  System)
• CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operation)
• States must develop a plan to meet or exceed
  federal NPDES guidelines or EPA will issue
  permits
• NC Department of Environment and Natural
  Resources (DEHR)
• NPDES permits are administered by the Division of
  Water Quality (DWQ)

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Federal CAFO Thresholds(Based on 1,000 Animal
Units)

• 1,000 slaughter or feeder cattle
• 700 mature cattle (dry or milking)
• 2,500 swine (gt 55 pounds)
• 500 horses
• 10,000 sheep or lambs
• 55,000 turkeys
• 30,000 hens or broilers (liquid systems only)
• 5,000 ducks

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NC Thresholds

• 250 head of swine (regardless of size)
• 100 head of cattle (in confinement)
• beef or dairy
• 75 horses
• 1,000 sheep
• 30,000 chickens (liquid systems only)
• Confinement animals held gt45 days or can cannot
  support permanent vegetation

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Eight Components of NCs Animal Waste Management
Plans

• General Permit - Issued by DWQ for all farms over
  the threshold numbers
• waste application rates
• record keeping
• waste and soil testing
• emergency management plans
• riparian buffers
• animal mortality management
• insect control checklists
• odor control checklists

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NC Dry Litter Waste Plans

• Poultry farms, using dry litter, with gt30,000
  birds must develop a Dry Litter Management Plan
• Non-certified plan
• Waste soil testing
• Monitor Cu Zn levels
• Balance litter application with crop nitrogen
  requirement
• Record Keeping
• NC Cooperative Extension Service is educated
  producers on how they can develop their own plans
  

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Animal Waste System Operator Certification

• NC - First state to require operators to be
  certified
• Operator in Charge - required on every farm
• Other states have implemented both voluntary or
  mandatory programs
• OH, OK, IL, NE, MN,TX, SK BC - Canada

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NC Senate Bill 974 - 1995

• Required operators of swine waste systems,
  greater than 250 head of swine, to be certified
• To be certified an operator must
• Complete 6 hours of classroom training
• Pass a certification exam
• Pay a 10 annual fee
• Training program was developed and implemented by
  NC Cooperative Extension Service in cooperation
  with state agencies and members of the swine
  industry

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Senate Bill 1217 - 1996

• Required operators of animal waste management
  systems, to be certified
• greater than 250 confined hogs, 100 confined
  cattle, 75 confined horses, 1,000 sheep or 30,000
  poultry (liquid systems)
• To be certified an operator must
• Complete 10 hours of classroom training
• Pass a certification exam
• Pay a 10 annual fee
• Complete 6 hours of additional training every 3
  years

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Program Successes

• SB974 Program
• 4,200 citizens completed 6-hours of training
• 3,800 citizens passed the certification exam
• 88 passing rate
• 3,200 swine waste operators, paid 10 fee, and
  became certified

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Program Successes

• SB 1217 Program
• Completed one of three sets of exams
• To date, 250 swine, dairy, and liquid-based
  poultry system operators have been certified
• Passing rate of 93

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Waste Handling

• The method of manure handling has the most impact
  on
• how the material can be stored
• how the material can be treated
• how it may be land applied
• how much area is needed to properly handle the
  material
• the relative value of the manure as a fertilizer
• the cost on constructing and operating the waste
  system

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Waste Handling

• Dry Litter
• Solid
• separated solids
• compost
• Semi-Solid
• Slurry
• Liquid

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Dry Litter Systems

• Primarily used in poultry production
• Applications for swine and cattle
• Litter bed for absorption and insulation
• wood chips, peanut or rice hulls, shredded paper

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Solids Separation

• Gravity or Mechanical
• Reduce organic loading to storage or treatment
  unit
• Reduce liquid manure volume and N content
• Flexibility in application
• Possible odor reduction
• Compost or direct application
• Value-added products

Gravity Systems 50 Reduction
Mechanical Systems 30-35 Reduction
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Composting

• Aerobic biological process to treat organic
  wastes
• CN and Moisture
• Volume, odor and nutrient reduction
• Land application, soil amendment
• Marketing and quality control are limiting
  factors for off-farm use

Windrow w/Mechanical Aeration
Static Pile w/Forced Aeration
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Semi-Solid Manure Handling

• Daily removal of manure
• smaller dairies
• Longer term removal
• western US beef feedlots
• dry climates
• limited runoff
• Minimal equipment required
• Limited storage of manure
• Difficult to apply manure 365-days a year

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Slurry Waste Handling

• Very nutrient rich liquid
• Direct storage of feces, urine, bedding and
  excess water
• dairies
• mid-west swine
• Tank spreaders, irrigation or injection
• Can be odors, especially if land applied without
  injection or incorporation

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Liquid Waste Handling

• Water is a substitute for mechanical or human
  energy
• Flush systems
• treatment systems
• anaerobic
• aerobic
• creates best production environment for confined
  animals
• Irrigation

Egg Production
Swine Production
Dairy Production
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Manure Storage

• Solid
• Uncovered piles
• Covered piles
• Roofed storage structures
• Liquid
• Earthen
• Above-ground tanks

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Treatment of Animal Waste

• BOD,
• Nitrogen
• Phosphorus
• Pathogens
• 3rd Law of Thermodynamics
• Nothing is created or destroyed, just
  transformed

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Treatment Processes

• Aerobic Systems
• Anaerobic
• Digesters
• Lagoons
• Composting
• Constructed Lagoons
• Land Application

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Aerobic Treatment Systems

• Mechanical or passive aeration to supply BOD
  requirement of wastewater
• BION
• activated sludge systems
• Large amounts of biomass (sludge) is formed
• Nutrient removal achieved to sludge removal or
  separate denitrification system
• Oxygen needed for nitrification is roughly 4
  times that required for BOD treatment
• Can be expensive to construct and operate

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Anaerobic Waste Treatment

• Organic degradation through anaerobic digestion
• Lagoons
• Engineered systems
• Produce gases
• CO2, CH4, NH3, NO2, N2
• Production is very season and site-specific
• Digesters
• Capture biogas for combustion
• Concentrates liquid wastewater

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Anaerobic Lagoon Schematic
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Lagoon Liners

• Clay
• NRCS SNTC Technical Note 716
• 0.028 ft/day, gt1 ft thick
• existing of imported clay
• Synthetic Liners
• PVC
• Polypropylene
• Hypalon
• HDPE
• Concrete

Proper Installation of PVC Synthetic Liner
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Composting

• Aerobic bacterial decomposition
• Naturally occurring process
• Volume reduction
• Nutrient reduction
• Odor control
• Pathogen destruction due to high temperatures

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Constructed Wetlands

• Natural wetlands have the ability to treat and
  assimilate wastes
• BOD treatment
• Nutrient reduction
• Denitrification
• Soil and plant adsorption
• Plant uptake

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Treatment Processes of Land Application

• Nutrients
• Plant uptake
• Adsorption/binding
• Volatilization
• Pathogens
• Immobilization
• Bacteria degradation
• Killing or rendered inert by
• oxygen, UV light, drying

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Land Application

• Agronomic Rates
• Priority nutrient (N or P)
• Realistic Yield Expectation
• Only apply that nutrient amount which the crop
  can utilize - based on the expected crop yield
• Nutrient removal achieved by crop harvest
• Many states also plan for residual organic
  nitrogen
• Equipment Calibration
• Insure application rates and patterns

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Animal Mortality Management

• Burial
• Landfills
• Direst Feeding - alligator production
• Incineration
• Digestion
• Composting
• Rendering

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Farm Inspections

• NC - two inspections or reviews are conducted
  annually on every farm over the animal threshold
• Division of Water Quality
• regulatory review and site inspections
• record keeping
• Division of Soil and Water Conservation
• operational review
• access the need for technical assistance
• Both inspections use the same form

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1997 Inspections - Overview

• Inspections
• 3,375 DWQ Inspections
• 2,662 DSWC Reviews
• 650 SWCD Reviews
• 410 Freeboard violations (statewide - all
  animals)
• Discharges - 77 total
• 56 Dairy
• 19 Swine
• 2 Poultry

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Fines - 1997

• 128 cases assessed
• 31 were dismissed
• Fines
• 10,000 per day maximum
• 193,290.29 - Total
• Range 200 - 12,638.64
• No record keeping violations

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Other Sources of Information

• Certification Training for Operators of Animal
  Waste Management Systems (NC - AG538 A/B)
• Livestock Waste Facilities Handbook (MWPS-18)
• Web sites
• Ag Statistics
• US www.usda.gov/nass/
• NC www.agr.state.nc.us/stats
• Animal Waste
• U of Minn. www.bae.umn.edu/extens/manure/manure.h
  tml
• NCSU www.bae.ncsu.edu/bae/programs/extension/manu
  re/awm.html
• NCSU Soilsces.soil.ncsu.edu/soilscience/programs/
  index.htm

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Animal Waste ManagementIntroduction and BMPs
For more information, contact Jim Barker,
jim_barker_at_ncsu.edu Ron Sheffield,
ron_sheffield_at_ncsu.edu