Manure Expo: Immerse yourself in knowledge

Agriculture is in constant flux. Technologies advance, regulations change, and new discoveries are made. The manure handling and application industry is no different.

The North American Manure Expo prides itself on helping livestock producers and custom manure applicators stay in the know. This year’s event – being held August 3 and 4 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio – provides attendees with dozens of education sessions to choose from to help them stay informed.

“I am very excited about the educational programs we are offering,” says Mary Wicks, the 2016 expo co-chair and a research associate with The Ohio State University’s college of food, agricultural, and environmental sciences and college of engineering. She is also involved with Ohio Composting and Manure Management (OCAMM). “We have a great team, which has made the work fun and productive. As a result, we have a wide array of offerings in the types of programs and information offered.”

On August 3, the knowledge sharing begins at 5 p.m. with an evening round of seminars on the expo grounds. Subdivided into several areas of interest, they include:

Small Farm Manure Management (Association Building #577)

Nutrient management 101

Side dressing corn with manure

In-place irrigation with wastewater

Manure and nutrient management for the horse owner

Regulations: Protecting the environment and food

Cover Crops (Farm Credit Services Building #355)

Cover crops: Opportunities and challenges

Cover crops and nutrient transport

Can watershed-scale cover crops reduce nutrient export?

Establishing cover crops

Pump School and Frac Tanks (Walters Building, #733)

Puck Enterprises Pump School

Using frac tanks for liquid manure application

On August 4, the learning continues with a full day of sessions. The first round begins at 11 a.m.

Water Quality Initiatives & Regulations (Association Building #577)

Why regulations?

Lessons from Washington and Iowa litigation

Chesapeake Bay Watershed: Lessons learned and ongoing challenges

Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP)

Reducing Phosphorus Runoff (Wick Building #483)

Dissolved reactive phosphorus

P availability and movement

Findings from watershed monitoring

Results from Edge of Field studies

Liquid Manure Handling and Application (Farm Credit Services Building #355)

Swine pit foaming: Reducing the risk and staying safe

Effect of pit additives on odor and gas emissions

Side dressing corn and wheat with liquid manure

Economics of transporting liquid manure

Solid Manure Handling and Application (Walters Building #733)

Brokering poultry litter (Panel discussion)

Composting: Creating the gardener's gold

Water recycling to reduce manure volume and concentrate nutrients

Solid/liquid separation for bedding and irrigation

Manure Safety and Transport (Cleary Building #626)

Risk or myth? Understanding the common safety hazards of manure handling

Dragline systems operations safety

Preserving and protecting rural roads: Proactive steps towns, counties and the ag industry can take

Manure transport: Liability and rules of the road

Another round of education sessions will begin at 1:30 p.m. Topics include:

Anaerobic Digestion (Association Building #577)

Anaerobic digestion: Opportunities and challenges

On-farm digesters: Bridgewater Dairy

On-farm digesters: Wening Poultry

New Technologies (Wick Building #483)

OnMrk: App for nutrient management record keeping

Solar energy in agriculture: Considerations for investing in photovoltaic solar systems

Biosecurity (Farm Credit Services Building #355)

Biosecurity procedures

Biosecurity measures at Cooper Farms

Attendees will also have lots of opportunities to learn in the field. On August 4, watch solid and liquid manure application plus compost turner demonstrations, take part in a spreader calibration exercise, and observe smoking of subsurface tile drainage.

Continuing education units (CEU) for Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana have been approved for the majority of the education sessions, demonstrations and tours. They can be viewed here: http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/ocamm/images/CEU_summary.pdf.

Don’t forget the full day of dairy, beef and composting/nutrient management tours on August 3 plus the trade show, a chance to view and compare technologies while kicking the tires.

The North American Manure Expo is the perfect opportunity for attendees to talk to manufacturers, dealers and other experts in the manure industry and view side-by-side demonstrations of equipment.