Agricultural FAQs
1) How much bedding do sand lanes recover?
A properly designed sand lane can typically recover in excess of 90% of sand from sand-laden manure. Adding a sand trap at the end of a sand lane can increate the removal rate to nearly 100%.
2) How much bunker pad do I need if the walls are utilized?
Using 12’ walls, the bunker pad would be about 10,000 ft2 per 100 head. Using 16’ walls, about 8500 ft2 per 100 head. These figures include a loading area 40’ wide.
3) How much feed bunker runoff must be caught and stored?
Leachate from a typical bunker for 200 head would be about 2500 ft3 per year.
The volume of the first flush to be stored would be about 15,000 ft3 per year if only the 0.2 inches of the first flush is caught.
The volume of runoff would be about 17,500 ft3 from the bunker to be stored.
This would increase the annual storage volume in your manure storage facility by about 15%.
4) How should I dispose of my mortalities?
There are two main options: (1) a mortality composter and (2) a cremator. Mortality composters are often the most economical because they involve less start-up costs as well as less operational costs.
5) How much storage do I need?
If I have, 210 days with Holstein dairy cows and parlor waste:
92,400 cu. ft. per 100 hd or 693,000 gal per 100 hd (assumes 2.4 ft3/hd per day manure and bedding and 12 gal/hd per day parlor waste plus some for rainwater)
If I have, 365 days with Holsteins and a parlor:
160,600 cu. ft. per 100 hd or 1,204,500 gal per 100 hd (assumes 2.4 ft3/hd per day manure and bedding and 12 gal/hd per day parlor waste plus some for rainwater)
6) How much methane from manure?
322 cu. ft. per hr biogas per 100 hd (assumes plug flow and mesophylic digestion of manure and 50% destruction of volatile solids where 60% of gas is methane)
7) How much electricity from methane?
13.2 kw hr/hr per 100 hd (assumes plug flow and mesophylic digestion at 50% destruction of volatile solids where 60% of gas is methane)
8) How much waste heat can I recover from a CoGen System?
91,000 btu/hr per 100 hd (if generating 13.2 kw-hr/hr)
9) How many acres do I need to utilize waste (assuming dairy manure from liquid storage)?
Phosphorus Limits:
Applied To:
Corn Grain 120 bu/acre
Corn Sileage 20 ton/acre
Soybean 50 bu/acre
Soil Tests:
Low
Opt
High
Corn Grain:
Low(0.9 ac/hd), Opt(1.4ac/hd), High(2.6 ac/hd)
Corn Sileage:
Low(0.6), Opt(0.9), High(1.9)
Soybean
Low(1.2), Opt(1.4), High(3.2)