bedding – Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Community

Why Study Compost as Bedding for Horses?

The purpose of this project was to study and promote the use of compost as an alternative horse stall bedding and encourage horse owners and managers to think more creatively about manure management. Our objective was to reduce bedding use, and improve manure management practices at equine facilities in Snohomish County, Washington State.

Recreational and professional horse owners contribute to maintaining agricultural open space and supporting the agricultural infrastructure and local economy. Horse owners have historically been overlooked as contributors to animal agriculture, and as a result many horse owners lack a basic knowledge about manure and nutrient management. They are not aware of their impact on water and soil quality. Disposal of used stall bedding is costly for horse owners in northwestern Washington State, and has a potentially large impact on water quality. Disposal practices often include filling in low spots and ravines, or building massive piles. Composting manure at high temperatures eliminates pathogens and parasites, stabilizes nutrients, and reduces odors and vector attraction.

What did we do?

The Snohomish Conservation District (SCD) worked with ten commercial and two private equine facilities to test the use of compost as an alternative horse stall bedding material. Facilities ranged in size from 5 to >20 stalls. The primary system used for composting and reusing bedding involved a micro-bin composter (O2 Compost, Snohomish, WA) and a Stall Sh*fter® (Brockwood Farm, Nashville, IN). Micro-bins were assembled on-site and filled with used stall bedding (Fig.1-2).

Figure 1. Assemble compost micro-bin on site and fill with manure and bedding Figure 2. Turn on blower to provide aeration and monitor temperature

After 30 days of composting, the bin was emptied and the manure was separated from the bedding (Fig. 3). The composted bedding was then used in a stall (Fig. 4). Equine facility managers provided feedback on the effectiveness, perception, and impacts of using the compost as stall bedding. Results varied between trial sites based on type and quantity of bedding used, season, and stall management practices.

Figure 3. After 30 days of composting, empty the bin and sort the composted manure from the bedding using the Stall Sh*fter (registered trademark)

Figure 4. Use composted bedding in the stall and composted manure in the garden.

What have we learned?

Composted stall waste makes a soft absorbent bedding for horses or other livestock. Composted bedding is less dusty than shavings or wood pellets, darker in color, and has a pleasant earthy odor. There were no reports of composted bedding increasing stall odors or flies, or negatively impacting horse health. The best results were reported when mixing the composted bedding with un-composted bedding in equal proportions or two parts compost to one part bedding. There were some reports of horses with skin and respiratory conditions improving during the time they were on composted bedding, including thrush in the feet, hives and “rain rot” on the body, and “scratches” on the legs.

When separating the composted manure from the bedding, the amount and type of bedding determines the effectiveness of a bedding re-use system. Concern about appearances was more prevalent than concern about disease or parasite transfer. Even though barn managers were not entirely ready to make the switch to composted bedding, this project helped start many conversations (in person, through publications, and social media) about manure management and resource conservation. It was a great opportunity to help horse owners make the mental leap from “waste” to “resource”.

Future Plans

This project demonstrated that compost is a safe and effective horse stall bedding. Future work should be focused in three areas:

1. Developing systems for making composted bedding that are practical on a large scale and provide an economic incentive for large equine facilities to recycle their waste.

2. Outreach and education programs directed at horse owners who board their animals at commercial facilities. Would some horse owners be willing to pay a premium to board their horses at a facility that is managed in an environmentally sustainable manner?

3. Clinical trials to examine the effects of composted bedding on skin and respiratory conditions.

Author

Caitlin Price Youngquist, Agriculture Extension Educator, University of Wyoming Extension cyoungqu@uwyo.edu

Additional information

Visit http://BetterGround.org, a project of the Snohomish Conservation District.

The full report, including photographs of trial sites, is available on the Western SARE website: https://projects.sare.org/sare_project/ow11-315/

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all of the farm owners and managers who very graciously participated in this project and were willing to try something new. The contribution of time and energy is very much appreciated.

Thanks also to the staff at O2 Compost for their efforts, ideas, and creativity. This would not have been possible without them.

And Mollie Bogardus for helping take this project to the next level, and explore all the possibilities.

The authors are solely responsible for the content of these proceedings. The technical information does not necessarily reflect the official position of the sponsoring agencies or institutions represented by planning committee members, and inclusion and distribution herein does not constitute an endorsement of views expressed by the same. Printed materials included herein are not refereed publications. Citations should appear as follows. EXAMPLE: Authors. 2015. Title of presentation. Waste to Worth: Spreading Science and Solutions. Seattle, WA. March 31-April 3, 2015. URL of this page. Accessed on: today’s date.

Why Study Manure Solid-Liquid Separation?

We wished to evaluate a two staged manure separation system for bedding and solids removal. Manure separation can accomplish several purposes on a dairy farm. The two most common goals are to produce a fiber bedding for the animals and the second is to remove as many solids as economically feasible prior to long term storage.

What did we do?

We looked at existing and new systems that use manure fiber bedding. Manure fiber bedding or “green bedding” is separated solids from manure collected daily on the dairy that has not been through digestion or other heat process. Manure samples were collected and analyzed for total solids and nutrient content through commercial labs. Questions were asked to dairy personnel regarding stall management practices.

What have we learned?

Separating manure for fiber bedding production is very different than separation for clean liquid. A dry solids cake from the separator does not directly correlate to a good bedding product for the cows. Dairy bedding must provide cushioning for the animal while laying and stable footing during the process of lying down and getting up. A healthy, productive cow will spend 12-14 hours per day lying down. A good bedding must be able to absorb liquid and maintain a clean, dry and comfortable stall for the cow. Typical dry solids cakes contain many small particles that prohibits the solids ability to absorb liquid on the cows lying surface.

Separation equipment does have an effect on overall perceived bedding quality. Longer fibers are preferred to shorter fibers. Longer fibers appear to provide better cushioning and are less prone to sticking to the cow’s legs, flanks and teat ends.

comparison of fibers from two different manure separation systems

Figure 1. Roller press fibers on the left; screw press fibers on the right.

Fiber bedding can be used directly from the separator (often referred to as “green bedding), composted in windrows or aerobically digested in a vessel. Regardless of treatment method, the success of a manure fiber bedding system is dependent on many factors besides the equipment operation. Management of the free stalls including stall grooming, ventilation, re-bedding and frequency of manual manure removal are examples of other critical factors.

In looking at staged separation systems, the owner is willing to sacrifice capture rate efficiency on first stage separation to achieve high quality bedding. By allowing smaller solids to pass through the primary separation system, the quality of bedding often improves. Eventually, as the larger fibers are broken down while in the free stall or by pumping and processing equipment they become small enough to pass through first stage separation.

Having staged separation is extremely beneficial for advanced manure processing. Primary separation systems do more than produce a fiber bedding material, they also act as a foreign material screen for downstream equipment as well as slightly reduce the total volume to subsequent stages. Foreign material such as; plastic bottles, wooden hoof blocks, rocks, pieces of plastic etc. can cause significant damage to more sensitive (and often expensive) downstream equipment, such as a centrifuge, finer separation screen, belt filter press or other mechanical solid liquid separator. A primary separator is often better suited to handle foreign materials without disrupting operations. Furthermore, by removing the larger solids for bedding there is a slight reduction in volume going to secondary separation steps. This can lead to savings by reducing the required capacity of downstream equipment or reducing the total volume chemistry costs when using coagulants or polymers.

Primary separation for bedding has shown some nutrient removal. On farms using primary separated solids for animal bedding, the nutrient content is irrelevant since the nutrients are recycled back into to the housing system, until the fibers are broken down enough to pass. The specific capture rate of total solids and individual nutrients are show in the table below.

Primary Capture Rates	Dairy TR	Dairy GM	Dairy CVT
Total Solids	20	43	55
Total Nitrogen	4.2	15	20
Phosphorus	3.5	5	37
Potassium	2.6	10	15

Total solids capture rates are directly correlated to incoming total solids content. Higher incoming solids results in higher capture rates (Burns and Moody, 2001). The total solids in the incoming material was lowest for Dairy TR and highest for Dairy CVT. It is a general understanding that a majority of the nutrients are contained in relatively small particles which pass through primary separation stream.

Future Plans

Staged separation systems are one example of how to incrementally add equipment and separation capacity as farms expand or field application of nutrients becomes more precise. Farms may initially install a basic separator to re-use liquid for alley flushing or flush fluming. A secondary stage separator can then be added for excess liquid prior to going to the lagoon for additional solids and nutrient removal.

Future investigation steps will be to continue evaluating secondary separation equipment for ease of operation, operational costs and nutrient removal efficiencies. Additionally further uses for the primary solids as a separation aid may prove beneficial as more systems are installed and used.

Author

Andy Lenkaitis, P.E. Environmental Systems Engineer, GEA Farm Technologies andy.lenkaitis@gea.com

Additional information

Contact GEA Farm Technologies for additional information regarding specific information on equipment or systems for manure separation systems.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge for dairy producers for sharing their insight and information to further the adaption of manure equipment. Additionally, support from key field personnel and local equipment dealers for identifying customers and servicing equipment in a less than pleasant location.