#Crops
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.