New Alternatives Emerge in the Midwest for Manure Management
Published on Mon, 04/13/2009 - 12:08pm
With environmental regulations on the rise for ranchers and farmers across the nation, it becomes increasingly important to look for alternative methods of controlling manure runoff, according to Chris Henry, extension engineer for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. For generations and especially within the last 10 years, water quality has been a major concern among environmentalists. And with farms and ranches across the country bordering local waterways, U.S. livestock producers are even more closely regulated among governing agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
A sprinkler Vegetative Treatment System (VTS) uses a mechanical device or pump to distribute the manure runoff evenly throughout the vegetative area, that is usually up gradient of the sediment settling structure.