Manure Pit at Shermirley Farm

1
Manure Pit at Shermirley Farm
Heather Bryant PSE 440 12/7/06
2
History of the Operation

• Family Farm
• 3 generations
• Conventional dairy
• 60-95
• Organic dairy
• 96-04
• Beef Production
• 05-present

3
Why Build a Manure Pit?

• 250 dairy cows, 150
• milkers
• 240 acres corn 2-300
• acres of haylage fertilized w/cow chicken
  manure
• Limited storage/P
• overfertilization
• Farm near river school
• Changing regulatory
• climate

4
Funding

• Total cost - 50,000
• 25 from Shirmerly
• 75 from an EQUIP
• grant administered
• by USDA-NRCS
• Assistance included
• Technical assistance
• Agreement to keep
• pit for 10 yrs

5
The Manure Pit

• Trapezoid shaped
• 12 deep
• Bottom lined with
• clay drainage tiles
• Capacity
• 600,000 gals
• 7 months

6
Pit Operation

• Liquid wastes
• pumped into catch basin
• Solids dumped into
• open pit
• Agitated
• Fertilizer pumped
• out into spreaders

7
Advantages/Disadvantages

• More efficient
• manure management
• Requires no
• maintenance
• Larger than necessary
• capacity
• Eyesore
• More access points

8
Future Plans

• Still being mapped
• out
• Beef Production
• w/Rotational Grazing