Evaluating the Effectiveness of Compost Bedded Dairy Pack - Ohio ...

Evaluating the Effectiveness
of Compost Bedded Dairy
Pack Systems for Ohio
Dr. Lingying Zhao
Dr. Harold Keener
Mary Wicks
Dr. Michael Brugger
Shunli Wang
Jon Rausch
Amanda Meddles
Mike Klingman
Roderick Manuzon
Dr. Jeetendra Upadhyay
Department of Food, Agriculture and
Biological Engineering
The Ohio State University

Overview
• Introduction of the study
• Study methods
• Indoor environment and air quality
in bedded pack dairy facility
• Characteristics of the compost
bedded back
• Conclusions
• Recommendations

Background of the Study
• Ohio dairy industry contributed $862 million
to the Ohio economy through milk and other
dairy product sales in 2007.
• 58% of dairy farms use liquid manure storage.
• Liquid manure systems require careful
management to minimize the risks of manure
runoff and can have high costs associated with
transport of a material that is up to 90%

Background of the Study
• For dairy farms to remain economically viable,
production systems that improve the health of
the cow, minimize manure handling costs, and
reduce potential environmental impacts are
needed.
• An alternative system that has been evaluated
by the University of Minnesota (UMN) over
the last several years is the compost bedded
pack dairy barn.

Compost bedded pack system
Characteristics:
• loose housing
• 3-4 ft bedding
• mechanical stirring
Benefits:
• cow comfort
• cow health
• easy to manage

Background of the Study
• The potential positive impacts for milk
production as well as the ability to handle
manure as a dry material have resulted in
increased interest in bedded pack systems in
Ohio .
• Scientific study to evaluate the bedded pack
system design in Ohio is requested by NRCS.

Objectives
• Analyze UMN recommendations to determine
if they meet animal needs and can be applied
in Ohio’s climate.
• Evaluate compost bedded pack systems in
Ohio to document current practices and
assess their effectiveness.
• Develop recommended design and
management guidelines for dairy bedded
pack systems.

Methodology
• 4 study farms, 4 visits, 1 in each season
• Air quality (6-10 locations, before/after stirring)
– T and RH
– Carbon dioxide (CO 2)
– Hydrogen sulfide (H 2S)
– Ammonia (NH 3)
• Bedded pack (6 random locations, 6-, 12-, 18-inch
depths)
– Temperature & oxygen
– Total-N, ammonia-N, moisture, ash, carbon, pH

Barn D-1, Zanesville, OH
• Compost barn began operations May 2006
• 160-170 heifers
• Cow spacing: 75 sq ft/cow
• Bedded area adjacent to feed alley

Barn D-2, Millersburg, OH
• Compost barn began operations Jan. 2008
• 150-160 Jerseys (on pasture spring-fall)
• Cow spacing: 88 sq ft/cow
• Feed alley and manure storage at the end of
building

Barn D-3, Lodi, OH
• Compost barn began operations Nov. 2008
• 60-65 Holsteins
• Cow spacing: 90 sq ft/cow

Barn D-4, Mantua, OH
• Compost barn began operations Dec. 2007
• 80-90 Holsteins-Jersey & Holstein-Jersey-
Normandy crosses (on pasture spring-fall)
• Cow spacing: 80 sq ft/cow

Analysis of Design and Management
Practices in Reference of MN
Recommendation
Practice Recommend Farm D-1 Farm D-2 Farm D-3 Farm D-4
Cow spacing (sq ft) 65-80 75 88 90 80
Concrete wall (ft) 4 4 4 4 3
Sidewall height (ft) 16 16 16 16 14
Bedding type sawdust sawdust sawdust + straw 1 sawdust sawdust + straw 2
Bedding depth (in) 4
12-48 12-48 12-48 12-48 12-36
Bedding additions as needed as needed as needed as needed as needed
Stirring frequency 2 times/day 2 times/day 2 times/day 3
2 times/day 2 times/day 3
Feed alley scrape 2x/day scrape 2x/day scrape 2x/day 3
scrape 2x/day scrape 2x/day 3
Pack clean out 6-12 months 12+ months 5
12 months 12 months 9 months

Design and Management in OH
Use Minnesota guidelines with a few variations:
• D2. Mid-Feb to early May, unable to obtain
sawdust so used straw and did not turn.
• D4. Feb to early March, limited sawdust so
alternated with sliced straw and continued to
turn.
• D2 and D4. Reduce frequency of sawdust
additions, pack turning and feed alley scraping
when cows on pasture.

Sampling Plan for Barn D-1
• 4 points for
continuous T and RH
measurement
• 5 points for gas
concentration
• 3 points for
verification of gas
concentration
• 6 random points for
compost bedding
sampling

Sampling Plan for Barn D-2
• 4 points for
continuous T and RH
measurement
• 5 points for gas
concentration
• 3 points for
verification of gas
concentration
• 6 random points for
compost bedding
sampling

Sampling Plan
for Barn D-3

Sampling Plan
for Barn D-4

Indoor environment
measurement
• Air velocity– TSI VELOCICALC®
– 0-9999 fpm
– 3% error
• Temperature- TSI VELOCICALC®
– Range: 0 to 60 C (32 to 140 F)
– Accuracy: 0.6 C ( 1.0 F)
– Resolution: 0.1 C (0.1 F)
• Humidity- TSI VELOCICALC®
– Range: 5% to 95% RH
– Accuracy: 2.0% RH
– Resolution: 0.1% RH
• Hobo Outdoor Air Sensors
• Range of -35°C to 80°C
• and 0 to 100% RH

CO 2 measurement
• TSI-IAQ meter:
– 0-5000 ppm
– 50 ppm or 3% of reading
– Resolution:1 ppm
• Matheson-tri-gas
Kitagawa tubes
– Accuracy: 5 to 15%

Ammonia (NH 3) measurement
• SPM:
– Range: 0-30 ppm
– Resolution: 0.5 ppm
• Matheson-tri-gas
Kitagawa tubes
– Accuracy: 5 to 15%

Hydrogen sulfide (H 2S)
• Jerome H2S
analyzer 631-X
– Range: 0.001 to 50 ppm
– Resolution: 0.003 ppm
– Accuracy:
0.003 ppm at 0.05 ppm
0.03 ppm at 0.5 ppm
0.3 ppm at 5 ppm
2 ppm at 25 ppm
• Matheson-tri-gas
Kitagawa tubes
– Accuracy: 5 to 15%
measurement

•
OT-21 Temperature and O 2 Probe
• Oxygen
measurement
range is 0-22%
• Temperature
range is -18 ºC
- +100 ºC
for Bedded Pack

Temperature(oC)
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
-5
-10
Temperatures in the Barns
Winter Spring Summer Autumn
Seasons
D1
D2
D3
D4
˚F ˚C
79 26.1
77 25.0
75 23.9
73 22.8
71 21.7
69 20.6
67 19.4
65 18.3
63 17.2
61 16.1
59 15.0
57 13.9
55 12.8
53 11.7
51 10.6
49 9.4
47 8.3
45 7.2

Relative Humidity (RH) in the Barns
RH (%)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Winter Spring Summer Autumn
Seasons
D1
D2
D3
D4

Air Velocity (m/s)
2
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
Air Velocity in the Barns
Winter Spring Summer Autumn
Seasons
D1
D2
D3
D4

Thermal Environment in the Barns
VARIABLE
Temperature (mean)
MEASUREME
NT
28 – 78 F
(-2-26 C)
Cow Comfort
Zone
40-60 F
(4-16 C)
Relative humidity (mean) 35 – 90% 30-70%
Air velocity (mean) 0.2 – 1.8 m/s n/a
• Temperatures in naturally ventilated dairy
barns follow weather changes
• In cold winter, the barn temperature is below
the cow comfort zone
• In hot summer, the temperature is above the
cow comfort zone, cooling fans are needed.

NH 3 Concentrations in the Barns
NH3 Concentration (ppm)
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
Winter Spring Summer Autumn
Seasons
D1
D2
D3
D4

H 2S Concentrations in the Barns
H2S Concentration (ppb)
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Winter Spring Summer Autumn
Seasons
D1 D2
D3 D4

CO2 Concentration (ppm)
CO 2 Concentrations in the Barns
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
D1 D2 D3 D4
Winter Spring Summer Autumn
Seasons

NH3 Concentration (ppmv)
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Diurnal variation of NH 3 and CO 2
Concentrations in the Barns
ppm,
NH3
ppm, CO2
5/7 5/8 5/9 5/10 5/11 5/12
1000
900
800
700
600
500
400
CO2 Concentration (ppmv)

Summary of Air Quality in the Barns
VARIABLE MEASUREMENT OSHA
Carbon dioxide 400 – 700 ppm 5000 ppm
Ammonia 0 – 1.6 ppm 50 ppm
Hydrogen sulfide 1 – 12 ppb 20 ppm
• No air quality concerns.
• Ventilation is adequate for cow health.

Characteristics of Bedded Pack
VARIABLE MEASUREMENT
Temperature 90 – 120 F
Oxygen 7 – 9 %
C/N ratio 9-36
ash 9.6 – 52.0
pH 7 - 9
N-P-K 1.8-3.3 (N); ~1 (P 2O 5); 2-3 (K 2O)
• T, oxygen, pH indicate composting conditions.
• High variability of C/N and ash due to continuous
additions of feces and urine.
• Assuming a 2.5:1:2 N:P:K content and 65% moisture ,
each ton of wet pack would supply 17.5, 7 and 14 lbs
of N, P 2O 5, and K 2O, respectively.

Cow Health & Comfort
• Somatic cell counts averaged between
144,000 – 188,000.
• Farmer satisfied with system, with
reports including:
– improved milk quality and production,
– improved feet health (reduced hairy wart),
– cleanliness of cows,
– ease of management.

Conclusions
• The compost bedded pack dairy barns in Ohio
followed the general recommendations from
Minnesota.
• The air quality in the barns was very good.
• As a nature of natural ventilation, the indoor
environment are out of the cow comfort zone
in Winter and Summer.
• The cow health and performance was very
good.

Conclusions
• There was good composting action when the
bedded pack was stirred as recommended.
• This study confirmed that the design guidelines
for composted bedded pack barns from
Minnesota would work well in Ohio.
• There is a need for having a reliable source of
sawdust, as there have not been many good
alternatives identified that work well in the
compost bedded pack barns.

Recommendations for Ohio
Barn design
• Spacing: 65-90 sq/ft/cow (900 – 1,400 lbs)
• Concrete wall: 3-4 ft to hold 6-12 months
accumulation of bedding and manure
• Feed alley: concrete, 12-ft wide, separated
from pack (ideally)
• Waterers: in feed alley along concrete wall
• Ventilation: 14-16 ft side curtain; openings on
short sides; overhead fans

Recommendations for Ohio
Bedding management
• Type: fine dry sawdust; if supplement with
straw, chop & alternate with sawdust
• Depth: initial depth 12-18; include bedding
from clean out to inoculate for composting;
clean out when reach wall height (~12 months)
• Additions: add 1-2 in when bedding sticks to
cow after lying down (~10-14 days)
• Stirring: 2x/day to depth of 10-12 in.

Recommendations for Ohio
Manure management
• Feed alley: scrape 2x/day; separate storage
• Pack: remove every 6-12 months depending
on depth and condition (e.g., moisture)

Recommendations for Ohio
Other considerations
• Pasture: adjust frequency of stirring, bedding
additions and alley scraping
• Land application: land apply pack; if C/N ratio
exceeds 30:1, may tie up nitrogen

Acknowledgements
Funding:
• USDA-NRCS
• Ohio Dairy Research Fund
Thank you to the participating
farms.

Questions?