Applications for Ohio Farm Bureau Health Plans now available
Members have three ways to apply: contacting a certified agent, calling 833-468-4280 or visiting ohiofarmbureauhealthplans.org.
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This summer, there were two new pieces of equipment by the pig barns at Stateler Farms in McComb, which is one of the sites of the Blanchard River Demonstration Farms project. A KDS Separator and Quick Wash trailer were both used in new research, headed by Applied Environmental Solutions co-founder Rick Johnson.
The KDS Separator is a dewatering device that uses rotating disks to separate water from manure, then compresses the manure into a cake that contains about 15% moisture content and has recovered up to 70% of the phosphorus. The idea is to keep the phosphorus in the solid portion of the manure so it can be hauled further distances from the farm or turned into a commodity for alternative uses.
“This type of unit is designed to be practical and economically doable for the smaller scale farmers,” Johnson said. “If you can’t find solutions for them, you will simply not have as much of an impact on what you are trying to accomplish.”
For many years, the practicality of a dewatering unit has been unattainable from a cost standpoint for many industries, including agriculture. Today, however, Johnson said the technology has hit a price point that a return on investment can be realized. What used to carry a price tag up to $1 million can now be as low as $50,000.
The Quick Wash unit takes the particulate form of manure, makes as much of the phosphorus soluble as economically possible and then precipitates out the phosphorus in the form of calcium phosphate.
“Some test results from the Stateler farm showed an initial reduction of ammonia of up to 20%, which is significant,” Johnson said. “Our goal is trying to develop a suite of solutions that are economical and can be more broadly applied throughout the state.”
Anthony Stateler watched Johnson and his team as the KDS and Quick Wash units were put to the test and he said he was impressed with the possibilities.
“It was really interesting to see what they were able to do with the phosphorus byproduct they were able to get out of our manure,” Stateler said. “We know phosphorus is an issue in the Western Lake Erie Basin so figuring out how equipment like this can economically pull that phosphorus away to allow us to spread that phosphorous a little bit further away from the farm could be a benefit for water quality efforts.”
In the near future, these units will also be tested on Ohio dairy and poultry farms to see how feasible the technology could be for those types of applications.
My first recommendation in your journey is to start out with a local farming friend or mentor along with joining an organization like Ohio Farm Bureau.
We’re just so thankful for the Farm Bureau and the foundation for helping put this together. And of course, the Boyert family for the vision they had with this grant. It’s jumping us forward 10 years. It’s unbelievable.
I could not have done it without the resources I have found through Farm Bureau.
It wasn’t until I joined the Wilmington College Collegiate Farm Bureau that I truly saw how my passion could translate into leadership, advocacy and a career.
The issue of property taxation remains as one of the biggest challenges our members face today. Ensuring agricultural property is valued for its agricultural potential and not development is critical to the continued success of Ohio agriculture.
Through the Select Partner program, we became educated in farm insurance and weren't just selling policies. It became more and more clear why farmers need an advocate like Ohio Farm Bureau.
So many of the issues that OFBF and its members are advocating for are important to all Ohioans. I look at OFBF as an agricultural watchdog advocating for farmers and rural communities across Ohio.
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