Feedyard Puts Composting Mortalities into
Routine Practice
by Bob Strong
Because of BSE in the United Kingdom, rendering services
are not as available as they used to be. This will probably get worse
with the discovery of BSE in Canada. Even if a render will pick up
deads, many now want to be paid for the service. The industry has
gone from having the render pay for the deads, or remove them for
free, to charging to remove them.
An increasing number of feedlots are starting to compost their deads
on site. If they do it at their own location and do not take-in deads
from other owners, they are within the regulations.
Geary Teague of Teague Diversified put it this way, "I refuse
to send my customer's a bill for a dead animal." Composting is
the way he is solving the problem of handling mortalities. Teague
Diversified operates a 25,000 head cattle feeding operation and farrow-to-finish
hog operation.
Beside one set of their pens they have an eight-acre area where they
do windrow composting. The windrows used for composting deads start
out as manure only. A high temperature must be maintained. When the
temperature of the row used for composting reaches the desired temperature,
the row is opened and the deads are added and covered with additional
manure. This takes place on a daily basis or as needed. The temperature
of the row must be maintained and monitored - it will reach 160 to
170 degrees.
The mortalities are then allowed to "cook in the rows" for
several weeks. The tissue, hide and small bones decompose. The large
bones soften and will decompose when put back into another windrow.
It is important to make sure the carcasses are within the row and
stay covered with a substantial layer of manure. With hogs, it isn't
much of a problem. But with calves that are near the end of the feeding
cycle, it requires attention.
The row is left undisturbed for 30 to 45 days. They use a Wildcat
straddle-style turner to turn the six-foot high by 14-foot windrows.
Timing is critical for complete decomposing -- too soon and the process
will not be complete. After the first turning, the windrows are managed
the same as the all-manure windrows. They are typically turned at
intervals of 10 to 20 days depending on the temperature. It takes
from 90 to 120 days for the complete process, allowing for variations
in the seasons.
A screen is used to remove any remaining pieces of large bones from
the finished compost. The compost may be used on farmland or sold
to nurseries. Composting mortalities, with all the changes taking
place, may become just another part of the feedlot operation.
There are several suppliers of the specialized equipment need for
composting deads. The conference sponsored by Bio-Cycle Journal of
Composting and Organic Recycling in Denver, May 5-7, 2003, covered
a variety of subjects. The processing of wood waste, tree trimmings,
sewer sludge, and manure were the main subjects covered by the speakers.
A trade show showcased compost equipment manufacturers. Manufacturers
with machines which fit the needs of the feedlots include: K-W Compost
Equipment, Sterling, Colorado; Wildcat Manufacturing, Freeman, South
Dakota; Scarab Manufacturing, White Deer, Texas; Brown Bear Corporation,
Corning, Iowa; ALLU Group, Hackensack, New Jersey; and SCAT Engineering,
Blairsburg, Iowa. ©
