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NA Manure Expo
State-of-the-art equipment and information all in the same place at the same time
September 10, 2014 by Marg Land
The audience watches different styles and models of lagoon boats stir and agitate an earthen lagoon at Chapman’s Dairy during Tour Day at the North American Manure Expo. Margaret LandFor Steve Chapman, it was the opportunity of a lifetime.
The Missouri dairy farmer’s face split into a big grin as he watched different styles and models of lagoon boats stir and agitate his operation’s earthen lagoon, measuring about 100 feet wide by 250 feet long.
“When will there ever be another time we could have all of this state-of-the-art equipment together in the same place at the same time,” he said, gesturing to the activity in front of him.
When, indeed?
Chapman, who operates a 130-cow pasture-based dairy near Pierce City, Missouri, hosted about 150 people on his farm in early July as part of Tour Day for the North American Manure Expo. Attendees had an opportunity to watch five different agitation boats and one dredger strut their stuff in the dairy’s lagoon, which was emptied and decommissioned a few weeks later.
Two pit pumps were also demonstrated in the Chapman Dairy’s 110-foot diameter concrete manure tank.
Tour participants also visited Springfield’s Southwest Clean Water Treatment Plant. This award winning facility can handle up to 42.5 million gallons of wastewater per day and removes approximately 70,000 pounds of pollutants from wastewater per day before it is discharged. The Southwest plant also generates about 15 dry tons of biosolids per day. The biosolids are processed and utilized as a soil conditioner and fertilizer.
During this stop, tour participants had an opportunity to tour the treatment facility and learn more about biosolids, anaerobic digestion, nutrient management plans and field mapping.
During the second day of the North American Manure Expo, attendees had an opportunity in the morning to visit a field on the outskirts of Springfield and see both liquid and solid manure spreaders in action.
The afternoon was reserved for visiting the expo’s indoor and outdoor trade show area plus attending educational sessions ranging from valuing manure to managing the risk of PEDv infection.
More than 500 people took part in the two-day expo, which is being held in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, July 14 and 15, 2015.
